Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.50.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank assumed 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. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Unitil in a report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th.

Unitil Stock Down 1.2%

Unitil stock opened at $53.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $956.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Unitil has a fifty-two week low of $44.61 and a fifty-two week high of $55.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.24.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Unitil had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The company had revenue of $216.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.13 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Unitil will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Unitil’s payout ratio is presently 60.13%.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Unitil in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Unitil in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Unitil in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Unitil by 196.1% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Unitil in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. 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.