Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $51.03 and traded as high as $52.07. Unitil shares last traded at $51.8590, with a volume of 80,585 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UTL. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Unitil in a report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Scotiabank started coverage on Unitil in a report on Friday, April 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.50.

Unitil Trading Up 1.2%

The stock has a market cap of $932.94 million, a P/E ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.03.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $216.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.13 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 9.89%. On average, research analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unitil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UTL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,538,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,532,000 after purchasing an additional 67,456 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 721,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,939,000 after purchasing an additional 31,186 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 17.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 717,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,414,000 after purchasing an additional 108,254 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,103,000 after purchasing an additional 14,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Unitil by 94.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 601,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,125,000 after purchasing an additional 291,325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

About Unitil

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.