Susquehanna International Group LLP Lowers Stake in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Susquehanna International Group LLP cut its holdings in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,201 shares during the quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP’s holdings in Unitil were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Unitil by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Unitil by 64.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,000,000 after acquiring an additional 34,017 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Unitil by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 67,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 10,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Unitil by 63.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 33,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UTL shares. Freedom Capital cut Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Unitil from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unitil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Unitil Price Performance

Unitil stock opened at $53.54 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $53.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $976.57 million, a P/E ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 0.32. Unitil Corporation has a twelve month low of $44.61 and a twelve month high of $57.26.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. Unitil had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The firm had revenue of $113.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 million. On average, analysts forecast that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Unitil’s payout ratio is currently 59.94%.

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.