Lido Advisors LLC Makes New $221,000 Investment in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Lido Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 798.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 8,333.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Unitil in the 4th quarter valued at about $166,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at about $244,000. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its holdings in Unitil by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Price Performance

UTL opened at $59.87 on Wednesday. Unitil Co. has a 1 year low of $48.94 and a 1 year high of $63.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $972.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $57.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.54.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.04). Unitil had a return on equity of 9.36% and a net margin of 9.52%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unitil Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Unitil Company 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.