Riverwater Partners LLC Sells 25,762 Shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Riverwater Partners LLC decreased its position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 81.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,762 shares during the quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in Unitil were worth $315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in Unitil in the 4th quarter worth $441,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 382,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 32.0% during 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 during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in Unitil by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 19,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Unitil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of Unitil stock opened at $57.01 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.83. Unitil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.40 and a fifty-two week high of $63.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $926.18 million, a PE ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 0.60.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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 a positive change from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. Unitil’s payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unitil Company 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.