Unitil Corporation $UTL Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,147 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.72% of Unitil worth $6,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UTL. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Unitil by 1,119.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 309,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,833,000 after buying an additional 284,522 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Unitil during the third quarter valued at approximately $13,162,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,338,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Unitil by 17.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 717,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,414,000 after buying an additional 108,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Unitil by 4.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,471,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,411,000 after buying an additional 68,820 shares in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on UTL shares. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Unitil in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Freedom Capital cut shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.50.

Unitil Trading Up 0.5%

UTL opened at $51.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $932.01 million, a P/E ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.27 and its 200-day moving average is $50.76. Unitil Corporation has a 52-week low of $44.61 and a 52-week high of $55.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $216.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.13 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 9.89%. Analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.13%.

Unitil Company Profile

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.