Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.50.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UTL. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Scotiabank started coverage on Unitil in a report on Friday, April 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised Unitil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Unitil in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, June 29th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Unitil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Unitil in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted 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 last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Unitil in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unitil Stock Performance

Unitil stock opened at $55.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $999.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Unitil has a 12-month low of $44.61 and a 12-month high of $56.18.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $216.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.13 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Unitil will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. 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.