Royal Bank of Canada Decreases Holdings in Unitil Corporation $UTL

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its holdings in Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 32.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 44,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 21,054 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Unitil were worth $2,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Unitil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 196.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Unitil during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UTL shares. Freedom Capital downgraded Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.50.

Unitil Trading Down 1.2%

UTL stock opened at $53.90 on Tuesday. Unitil Corporation has a 12 month low of $44.61 and a 12 month high of $57.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $53.30 and its 200 day moving average is $52.38. The company has a market capitalization of $983.14 million, a PE ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $113.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 9.53%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Unitil’s payout ratio is currently 59.94%.

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.