Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $3.86 Million Stock Position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 10.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,761 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Unitil were worth $3,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Unitil during the fourth quarter valued at $237,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Unitil by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Unitil during the fourth quarter worth $426,000. Sigma Planning Corp bought a new position in Unitil during the fourth quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in Unitil by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 119,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,284,000 after buying an additional 6,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UTL opened at $59.50 on Tuesday. Unitil Co. has a twelve month low of $41.43 and a twelve month high of $62.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.52. The company has a market capitalization of $962.00 million, a PE ratio of 19.83 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. Unitil had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The business had revenue of $95.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.67%.

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.