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

Shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $51.03 and traded as high as $52.07. Unitil shares last traded at $51.8590, with a volume of 80,585 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UTL shares. Scotiabank started coverage on Unitil in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.50.

Unitil Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $932.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 0.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.03.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $216.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.13 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 3.7%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.13%.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unitil by 502.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 1,337 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Unitil by 28.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 99,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,202,000 after purchasing an additional 22,032 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Unitil by 91.5% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 41,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,160,000 after purchasing an additional 19,760 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Unitil by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 490,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,600,000 after purchasing an additional 93,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 1st quarter worth about $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.