Susquehanna International Group LLP Sells 11,201 Shares of Unitil Corporation $UTL

Susquehanna International Group LLP lowered its stake in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 64.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,201 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP’s holdings in Unitil were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Unitil by 91.5% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 41,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,160,000 after purchasing an additional 19,760 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil in the second quarter valued at about $152,441,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 87.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 51,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,731,000 after acquiring an additional 24,131 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Unitil by 17,616.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 21,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 20,964 shares during the period. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Unitil during the first quarter worth about $7,836,000. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UTL opened at $53.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $976.57 million, a PE ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 0.32. Unitil Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.61 and a 1 year high of $57.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 9.49%.The company had revenue of $113.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 million. Analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UTL shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Unitil from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Freedom Capital lowered Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Unitil in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.50.

About Unitil

Unitil Corporation (NYSE: UTL) is a publicly traded energy delivery company that provides regulated electric and natural gas distribution services. The company delivers energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers through a network of distribution systems, offering safe and reliable service across its service areas. Unitil’s operations include system maintenance, emergency response, meter reading and customer support functions, all governed by state regulatory commissions.

Headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire, Unitil serves communities in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.