Foundry Partners LLC Sells 20,270 Shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Foundry Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 20,270 shares during the quarter. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in Unitil were worth $5,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UTL. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 6.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 723,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,835,000 after buying an additional 41,511 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Unitil by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 382,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 203,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,130 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Unitil in the 3rd quarter worth $5,827,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Unitil by 4.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 87,968 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 3,795 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Price Performance

NYSE UTL opened at $57.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $926.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 0.60. Unitil Co. has a 12 month low of $47.40 and a 12 month high of $63.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $55.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. This is an increase from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Unitil in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.