US Bancorp DE Buys 2,000 Shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 8,333.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Unitil were worth $110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 3rd quarter worth $5,827,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 723,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,835,000 after buying an additional 41,511 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 3rd quarter worth $1,400,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 474.4% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 27,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,695,000 after buying an additional 23,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 204.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 32,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 21,652 shares during the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of UTL stock opened at $56.28 on Monday. Unitil Co. has a twelve month low of $47.40 and a twelve month high of $63.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $914.32 million, a P/E ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 0.60.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This is a boost from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and set a $55.00 price objective 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.