Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Trading Up 2% – Here’s Why

Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) rose 2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $57.58 and last traded at $57.65. Approximately 5,750 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 57,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Unitil in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Unitil Stock Up 3.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $945.92 million, a P/E ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.30 and a 200-day moving average of $56.90.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Unitil’s payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of UTL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Unitil by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Unitil by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Unitil by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 15,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Unitil by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 33,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.