Renaissance Technologies LLC Reduces Position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its holdings in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 435,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 2.69% of Unitil worth $23,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 723,587 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,835,000 after acquiring an additional 41,511 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Unitil by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 382,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 203,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,130 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 117,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,355,000 after buying an additional 6,335 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Unitil by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 87,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,171,000 after buying an additional 3,795 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unitil Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE UTL traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 49,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,415. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Unitil Co. has a 52-week low of $48.36 and a 52-week high of $63.52. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $56.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $952.41 million, a P/E ratio of 20.01 and a beta of 0.58.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Unitil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Unitil's payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Unitil in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Unitil 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.