Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Sells 242 Shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP trimmed its position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 1.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 242 shares during the quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in Unitil were worth $871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UTL. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Unitil by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 1.9% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 55,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unitil by 25.1% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unitil by 402.1% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unitil by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UTL opened at $58.28 on Friday. Unitil Co. has a 1-year low of $41.43 and a 1-year high of $62.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.68 and its 200 day moving average is $53.55. The stock has a market cap of $942.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43 and a beta of 0.60.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $95.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.00 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 9.53%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Unitil’s payout ratio is 56.67%.

Unitil Company Profile

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.