Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Stock Position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 464,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Unitil were worth $24,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UTL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Unitil by 402.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 1st quarter worth $161,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 2nd quarter worth $181,000. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 2nd quarter worth $235,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 1st quarter worth $243,000. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UTL opened at $61.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $997.69 million, a P/E ratio of 20.57 and a beta of 0.60. Unitil Co. has a one year low of $41.43 and a one year high of $63.52. The company’s fifty day moving average is $59.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $95.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.00 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 9.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. Analysts forecast that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.67%.

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.