Foundry Partners LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Foundry Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 20,270 shares during the quarter. Foundry Partners LLC owned about 0.58% of Unitil worth $5,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Unitil by 8,333.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $271,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management raised its stake in Unitil by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE UTL opened at $57.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $926.18 million, a PE ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.83. Unitil Co. has a 52-week low of $47.40 and a 52-week high of $63.52.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. This is an increase from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Unitil in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Unitil Profile

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