Inspire Investing LLC Invests $725,000 in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 11,974 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $725,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 109.6% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 3,825 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 3.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 24.2% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 22,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 4,393 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Unitil by 0.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 492,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the second quarter valued at $208,000. 76.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of UTL opened at $58.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $950.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 0.60. Unitil Co. has a 52-week low of $44.71 and a 52-week high of $63.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.10.

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

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Unitil’s payout ratio is currently 56.29%.

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.