Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,659 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Unitil worth $4,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning raised its position in Unitil by 3.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Unitil by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,058,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Unitil by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 7.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 1.9% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 55,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UTL opened at $59.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Unitil Co. has a 1 year low of $45.26 and a 1 year high of $63.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $959.52 million, a PE ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $59.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.63.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.02%.

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.