Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $678,000 Stock Holdings in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 188 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.08% of Unitil worth $678,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 183.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 7,875 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 5,095 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Unitil by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unitil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,082,000. Wernau Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unitil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,673,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Unitil by 8,333.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

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 note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UTL opened at $58.14 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.59 and a 200-day moving average of $56.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Unitil Co. has a 12 month low of $47.40 and a 12 month high of $63.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $944.54 million, a PE ratio of 19.84 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 given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This is an increase from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.43%.

About Unitil

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.