Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,283,145 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,861 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 7.93% of Unitil worth $69,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wernau Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Unitil during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,673,000. State Street Corp boosted 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 purchasing an additional 41,511 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Unitil during the fourth quarter valued at $2,082,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,400,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 474.4% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 27,975 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 23,105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unitil Stock Up 0.6 %

Unitil stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,261. The company has a market capitalization of $946.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89 and a beta of 0.58. 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 one year low of $47.40 and a one year high of $63.52. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.56.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. This is an increase from Unitil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.43%.

About Unitil

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.