Readystate Asset Management LP Acquires New Holdings in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 15,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $718,000. Readystate Asset Management LP owned about 0.08% of Unitil as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the second quarter worth $34,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Unitil by 45.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Unitil in the second quarter worth about $103,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 207.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 1,523 shares during the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UTL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Unitil Stock Performance

UTL opened at $51.62 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $928.13 million, a P/E ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.49. Unitil Corporation has a 12-month low of $44.61 and a 12-month high of $59.99.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $161.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.45 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 9.37%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This is a boost from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 12th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Unitil’s payout ratio is currently 63.33%.

Unitil Profile

Unitil Corporation (NYSE: UTL) is a publicly traded energy delivery company that provides regulated electric and natural gas distribution services. The company delivers energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers through a network of distribution systems, offering safe and reliable service across its service areas. Unitil’s operations include system maintenance, emergency response, meter reading and customer support functions, all governed by state regulatory commissions.

Headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire, Unitil serves communities in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.