Boston Trust Walden Corp Reduces Stock Position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lessened its stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 393,604 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,878 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 2.43% of Unitil worth $23,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 0.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 492,473 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,505,000 after buying an additional 2,891 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 0.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 464,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,075,000 after buying an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 1.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 442,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $22,898,000 after buying an additional 5,790 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 3.2% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 81,960 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,291,000 after buying an additional 2,513 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 1.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 75,992 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,604,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Stock Performance

NYSE:UTL traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $57.76. The stock had a trading volume of 28,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,317. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $933.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25 and a beta of 0.60. Unitil Co. has a twelve month low of $45.13 and a twelve month high of $63.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.63.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $95.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.00 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 9.74%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Unitil's payout ratio is currently 56.67%.

Unitil Company Profile

Unitil Corporation, a public utility holding company, engages in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through two segments, Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations. The company distributes electricity in the southeastern seacoast and state capital regions of New Hampshire, and the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts; and distributes natural gas in southeastern New Hampshire and portions of southern and central Maine, including the city of Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn area, as well as electricity and natural gas in the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts.