Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) Increases Dividend to $0.48 Per Share

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders 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 dividend 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 raised its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Unitil has a payout ratio of 54.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 2.1%

Shares of UTL traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $50.30. The company had a trading volume of 33,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 78,532. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $49.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.67. Unitil has a 52 week low of $44.61 and a 52 week high of $59.99. The company has a market capitalization of $901.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Institutional Trading of Unitil

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Unitil by 37.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 3,263 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Unitil by 64.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,000,000 after purchasing an additional 34,017 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Unitil by 18.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 67,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 10,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Unitil by 63.3% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 33,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Unitil

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.