Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Unitil received a consensus “Hold” rating from five covering brokerages, all of which issued hold recommendations. The average 12-month price target is $56.50, while Weiss Ratings separately downgraded the stock from “buy” to “hold.”
• Unitil reported quarterly EPS of $0.29, exceeding analysts’ $0.26 estimate, on revenue of $113.19 million. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $3.31.
• The utility maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.475, or $1.90 annually, representing a 3.6% yield and a 59.94% payout ratio; institutional investors own 76.76% of the stock.

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.50.

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Unitil from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Unitil by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 10,519 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Unitil by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,698 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Unitil by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,812 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 69,773 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,380,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 7.1% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,220 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of UTL stock opened at $53.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $969.49 million, a PE ratio of 16.77 and a beta of 0.32. Unitil has a 12-month low of $45.17 and a 12-month high of $57.26.

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

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Unitil's payout ratio is currently 59.94%.

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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