Unitil Corporation (UTL) will raise its quarterly dividend by 1.3 percent in 2021 to 38 cents per share. This comes after a hike of 1.4 percent, this time to $0.375 per share last year. This 2021 increase will mark the utility holding company's 7th consecutive year of dividend hikes.

The next dividend is payable February 26, 2021, to shareholders of record on February 12, 2021. A new annual dividend rate of $1.52 per share yields 3.7% at a stock price of $40.81.

“Recognizing the importance of the dividend to our shareholders, I’m pleased that we’ve again increased our quarterly dividend rate,” said Thomas P. Meissner, Jr., Unitil’s chairman, president, and chief executive officer. “This continues our unbroken record of quarterly dividend payments since trading began in Unitil’s common stock, and reflects the confidence we have in the outlook for continued growth.”

Unitil Corporation is a utility holding company.Unitil’s principal business is the local distribution of electricity and natural gas to customers throughout its service territories in the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine. Unitil is the parent company of three wholly-owned distribution utilities: Unitil Energy, Fitchburg and Northern Utilities.