Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Position Reduced by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp decreased its position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 387,445 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,159 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 2.39% of Unitil worth $20,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 3.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,843 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Unitil by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 15,398 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its position in shares of Unitil by 9.1% in the third quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 5,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P increased its position in Unitil by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 34,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Unitil stock traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.44. 56,626 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,005. The firm has a market capitalization of $881.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 0.63. Unitil Co. has a 52-week low of $45.26 and a 52-week high of $63.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.75 and a 200-day moving average of $57.70.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $92.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.00 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.46%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Unitil Co. will post 2.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Unitil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Unitil's payout ratio is currently 58.02%.

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.