Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Given “Neutral” Rating at Guggenheim

Guggenheim reissued their neutral rating on shares of Unitil (NYSE:UTL) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $55.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

Unitil Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:UTL opened at $56.42 on Wednesday. Unitil has a 1 year low of $45.26 and a 1 year 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 has a market cap of $913.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.58.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. This is a positive change from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. Unitil’s payout ratio is 58.02%.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 3.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Unitil by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Unitil by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Unitil by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 15,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Unitil by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.