Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) Shares Bought by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares during the quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unitil were worth $573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning grew its position in Unitil by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its position in Unitil by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 5,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in Unitil by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 34,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,113,000 after buying an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Unitil by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of UTL opened at $54.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $887.23 million, a PE ratio of 18.70 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Unitil Co. has a 52-week low of $45.26 and a 52-week high of $63.52.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

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

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.