State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Increases Stock Holdings in Unitil Corporation $UTL

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 45,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,181 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Unitil were worth $2,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Unitil in the second quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 10.3% in the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 195.9% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 43,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 28,973 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in Unitil during the 2nd quarter valued at $292,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in Unitil by 395.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 18,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 14,747 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of UTL stock opened at $52.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $50.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.68. The firm has a market cap of $935.77 million, a P/E ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.49. Unitil Corporation has a 1-year low of $44.61 and a 1-year high of $59.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $161.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.45 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.38%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a positive change from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 12th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UTL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

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.