Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Unitil (NYSE:UTL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Unitil Price Performance

UTL opened at $53.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $966.24 million, a P/E ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.78. Unitil has a 12-month low of $44.61 and a 12-month high of $59.99.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.10. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 9.37%.The company had revenue of $161.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.45 million. Equities analysts predict that Unitil will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th were paid a $0.475 dividend. This is an increase from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 12th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Unitil’s payout ratio is presently 63.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Unitil by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Unitil by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 64.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,000,000 after acquiring an additional 34,017 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 18.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 67,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 10,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 63.3% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 33,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the period. 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.