Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 9,878 Shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 393,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,878 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 2.43% of Unitil worth $23,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Unitil by 66.0% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 38,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,000,000 after buying an additional 15,355 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Unitil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $346,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Unitil by 109.6% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 3,825 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,394 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unitil during the third quarter valued at approximately $725,000. 76.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unitil Price Performance

UTL opened at $57.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $933.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.58. Unitil Co. has a 12-month low of $45.13 and a 12-month high of $63.52.

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

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued 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 2.94%. Unitil’s payout ratio is 56.29%.

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.