Riverwater Partners LLC Has $315,000 Stock Holdings in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Riverwater Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 81.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,762 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in Unitil were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Unitil by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 15,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Unitil by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Unitil by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unitil Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of UTL opened at $57.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $926.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.83. Unitil Co. has a 52-week low of $47.40 and a 52-week high of $63.52.

Unitil Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Unitil in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.