Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) Receives $56.50 Average Price Target from Analysts

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.50.

Several research analysts recently commented on UTL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Scotiabank began coverage on Unitil in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Unitil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Unitil in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unitil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unitil during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Unitil in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Unitil during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of UTL stock traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 17,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,806. The stock has a market cap of $961.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.57. Unitil has a 52-week low of $44.61 and a 52-week high of $55.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.37.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Research analysts predict that Unitil will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 60.13%.

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.