Creative Planning Grows Position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Unitil were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Unitil by 402.1% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Unitil during the 2nd quarter valued at about $181,000. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unitil during the second quarter valued at about $208,000. BOKF NA bought a new position in shares of Unitil in the second quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Unitil during the first quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Stock Performance

NYSE UTL opened at $59.85 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Unitil Co. has a 1 year low of $44.71 and a 1 year high of $63.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $967.77 million, a PE ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 0.60.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 9.53%. The company had revenue of $95.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.29%.

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.