State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Grows Holdings in Unitil Corporation $UTL

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,181 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.26% of Unitil worth $2,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UTL. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Unitil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $290,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Unitil by 10.3% in the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Unitil by 195.9% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 43,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 28,973 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in Unitil in the second quarter valued at $292,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its position in Unitil by 395.4% during the second quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 18,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 14,747 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:UTL opened at $52.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $935.77 million, a P/E ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.49. Unitil Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.61 and a 1 year high of $59.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.10. Unitil had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.45 million. Equities analysts forecast that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 12th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 12th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Unitil’s payout ratio is currently 63.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Unitil has an average rating of “Hold”.

About Unitil

Unitil Corporation (NYSE: UTL) is a publicly traded energy delivery company that provides regulated electric and natural gas distribution services. The company delivers energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers through a network of distribution systems, offering safe and reliable service across its service areas. Unitil’s operations include system maintenance, emergency response, meter reading and customer support functions, all governed by state regulatory commissions.

Headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire, Unitil serves communities in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.