Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 38,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,082,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.24% of Unitil as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Unitil by 8,333.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil during the third quarter worth about $137,000. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Unitil in the third quarter worth about $271,000. ClearAlpha Technologies LP purchased a new position in Unitil in the third quarter valued at about $301,000. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its holdings in Unitil by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of UTL opened at $57.98 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $55.36 and its 200-day moving average is $56.87. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $941.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79 and a beta of 0.60. Unitil Co. has a one year low of $47.40 and a one year high of $63.52.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is an increase from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

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.