Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,978 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.23% of Unitil worth $1,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Unitil by 402.1% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $161,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 2nd quarter valued at $181,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 1st quarter worth $243,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 25.1% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unitil Stock Performance

NYSE:UTL opened at $60.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $976.22 million, a PE ratio of 20.13 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $59.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.24. Unitil Co. has a 12 month low of $41.43 and a 12 month high of $63.52.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $95.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.00 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 9.53%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.67%.

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.