Comerica Bank increases its stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Comerica Bank grew its position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL – Free Report) by 69.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,233 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Unitil were worth $669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 488,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,678,000 after buying an additional 83,980 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Unitil by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 213,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,201,000 after purchasing an additional 9,489 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in Unitil by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 119,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,284,000 after acquiring an additional 6,505 shares during the last quarter . Assenagon Asset Management SA raised its stake in Unitil by 22.9% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management SA now owns 83,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,364,000 after acquiring an additional 15,518 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 3.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 81,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s shares.

Unitil trading up 0.7%

Shares of UTL stock opened at $58.33 on Tuesday. Unitil Co. it has a fifty-two week low of $41.43 and a fifty-two week high of $62.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $54.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.25. The stock has a market cap of $943.20 million, a P/E ratio of 19.44 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.53, and a current ratio of 0.58.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL – Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 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 analysts’ expectations of $94.00 million. In the same quarter last year, the company posted EPS of $0.25. Equities research analysts predict that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil dividend announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.70 and a yield of 2.91%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.67%.

Unitil company profile

(Free report)

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 coastal and capital regions of New Hampshire and the greater Fitchburg area in north-central Massachusetts; and distributes natural gas to southeastern New Hampshire and portions of southern and central Maine, including the city of Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn area, as well as electric power and natural gas to the greater Fitchburg area in north-central Massachusetts.

See Also

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