Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $48.80 and traded as high as $50.54. Unitil shares last traded at $50.1160, with a volume of 80,115 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on UTL shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Unitil Trading Up 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $898.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.80.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.06. Unitil had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 9.04%. The business had revenue of $101.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $100.40 million. Research analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unitil

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UTL. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Unitil by 37.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Unitil by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 64.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,000,000 after purchasing an additional 34,017 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 67,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 10,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 63.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 33,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Company Profile

Unitil Corporation (NYSE: UTL) is a publicly traded energy delivery company that provides regulated electric and natural gas distribution services. The company delivers energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers through a network of distribution systems, offering safe and reliable service across its service areas. Unitil’s operations include system maintenance, emergency response, meter reading and customer support functions, all governed by state regulatory commissions.

Headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire, Unitil serves communities in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.