Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 156,300 shares, an increase of 24.0% from the June 30th total of 126,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 59,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unitil

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 402.1% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the fourth quarter worth $131,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the first quarter worth $161,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the fourth quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the fourth quarter worth $208,000. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unitil Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE UTL traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.36. 2,744 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,769. The company has a market cap of $959.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 0.60. Unitil has a one year low of $41.43 and a one year high of $60.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.50.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $178.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.00 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.84%. On average, analysts predict that Unitil will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.67%.

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.