Unitil Corporation (UTL) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.48 on February 27th

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.475 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 12th. This is a 5.6% increase from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

Unitil has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Unitil has a dividend payout ratio of 54.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Unitil to earn $3.30 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.5%.

Unitil Stock Up 2.7%

UTL stock opened at $50.58 on Friday. Unitil has a one year low of $44.61 and a one year high of $59.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.33 and its 200 day moving average is $48.68. The firm has a market cap of $906.32 million, a PE ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 0.50.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.06. Unitil had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 9.04%. The business had revenue of $101.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.40 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Unitil will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unitil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Unitil by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,538,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,532,000 after buying an additional 67,456 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Unitil by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 717,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,414,000 after acquiring an additional 108,254 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Unitil by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,103,000 after acquiring an additional 14,894 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in Unitil by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 413,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,797,000 after purchasing an additional 39,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 385,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,116,000 after purchasing an additional 4,824 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Company Profile

Unitil Corporation (NYSE: UTL) is a publicly traded energy delivery company that provides regulated electric and natural gas distribution services. The company delivers energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers through a network of distribution systems, offering safe and reliable service across its service areas. Unitil’s operations include system maintenance, emergency response, meter reading and customer support functions, all governed by state regulatory commissions.

Headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire, Unitil serves communities in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.