The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Position in Unitil Corporation $UTL

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its stake in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 511,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,528 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 2.84% of Unitil worth $26,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 10,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Unitil by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 9,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Unitil by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Unitil by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Unitil by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 69,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,380,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Unitil in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Freedom Capital downgraded Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Unitil in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.50.

Unitil Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Unitil stock opened at $53.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $971.12 million, a PE ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.07. Unitil Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.61 and a 1 year high of $57.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $216.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.13 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 9.89%. Equities research analysts predict that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Unitil’s payout ratio is 60.13%.

Unitil Company 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.