Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 2.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 81,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Unitil were worth $4,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Unitil by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 723,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,835,000 after acquiring an additional 41,511 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 3.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 511,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,006,000 after purchasing an additional 19,341 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 464,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,075,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Unitil by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 442,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,898,000 after buying an additional 5,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Unitil by 3.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 381,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,126,000 after buying an additional 11,324 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE UTL opened at $53.69 on Friday. Unitil Co. has a 12 month low of $45.26 and a 12 month high of $63.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $57.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.54. The stock has a market cap of $869.19 million, a P/E ratio of 18.32 and a beta of 0.62.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.02%.

About Unitil

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.