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

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL)’s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $51.52 and traded as high as $54.36. Unitil shares last traded at $53.9020, with a volume of 130,433 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Unitil in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Unitil in a report on Friday, April 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Unitil Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $969.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 0.31. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.52.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.13 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 9.60%. Analysts forecast that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.13%.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTL. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Unitil by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 10,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 9,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Unitil by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Unitil by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 69,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,380,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.