Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Coverage Initiated at Huntington

Key Points

• Huntington initiated coverage of Unitil with an “outperform” rating and a $63 price target, implying 18.6% potential upside from the stock’s $53.12 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall: Weiss Ratings downgraded Unitil to “hold,” while the broader consensus is “Hold” with an average price target of $58.67.
• Unitil recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.29 in EPS versus the $0.26 consensus estimate. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Investment analysts at Huntington initiated coverage on shares of Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $63.00 price target on the utilities provider's stock. Huntington's price target would suggest a potential upside of 18.60% from the stock's current price.

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered Unitil from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unitil presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.67.

Unitil Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:UTL traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $53.12. 7,177 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 124,194. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Unitil has a 52 week low of $45.17 and a 52 week high of $57.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $968.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 0.32. The firm's 50 day moving average is $53.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.69.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $113.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 9.53%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Unitil will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unitil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Unitil in the second quarter valued at $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Unitil during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Unitil by 196.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 610 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company's stock.

About Unitil

Unitil Corporation NYSE: UTL is a regulated public utility holding company that provides electric and natural gas distribution services to customers in New England. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company delivers energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers and maintains the local utility infrastructure needed to support those services.

Unitil Energy Systems provides electric distribution service in southeastern New Hampshire. Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company serves customers in north-central Massachusetts with electric and natural gas distribution, while Northern Utilities provides natural gas distribution in parts of New Hampshire and southern Maine.

Headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire, Unitil traces its history to the consolidation of smaller New England utilities and has operated as a publicly traded utility company since 1984.

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