Hennessy Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 15,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Unitil worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Unitil by 1.6% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Unitil by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 28,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,472,000 after purchasing an additional 3,334 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Unitil by 1.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 442,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,898,000 after purchasing an additional 5,790 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 61.1% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 6.4% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 35,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Price Performance

UTL stock opened at $54.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $887.23 million, a P/E ratio of 18.70 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.91. Unitil Co. has a 1 year low of $45.26 and a 1 year high of $63.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.78.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.02%.

Unitil 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.