Panagora Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 25.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Unitil were worth $262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UTL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unitil by 402.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $161,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Unitil during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Unitil during the 1st quarter valued at $243,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Unitil in the fourth quarter worth $284,000. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Trading Down 0.7 %

UTL stock opened at $59.37 on Thursday. Unitil Co. has a twelve month low of $41.43 and a twelve month high of $62.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $960.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.46.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $95.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.00 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 9.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.67%.

Unitil Profile

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.