Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Key Points

• Unitil beat quarterly earnings expectations: The utility reported a loss of $0.04 per share, $0.02 better than the consensus estimate, while revenue of $112.6 million came in slightly below expectations.
• Shares rose 1.7% to $56.42 following the results, near the stock’s 12-month high of $57.26.
• Unitil maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.475 per share, equivalent to $1.90 annually and a 3.4% yield. Analysts remain cautious, with the stock carrying an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $58.67.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $112.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.11 million.

Unitil Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE UTL traded up $0.95 during trading on Monday, reaching $56.42. 110,274 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 125,791. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80 and a beta of 0.27. The business's 50-day moving average price is $52.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.42. 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 twelve month low of $46.91 and a twelve month high of $57.26.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.4750 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Unitil's payout ratio is presently 59.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on UTL shares. Weiss Ratings cut Unitil from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Huntington started coverage on Unitil in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $63.00 target price for the company. 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 data from MarketBeat, Unitil currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.67.

Unitil Company Profile

Unitil Corporation is a regulated public utility holding company that delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Its operations focus primarily on the distribution of energy through local utility networks rather than the production of electricity or natural gas.

Through its operating subsidiaries, Unitil provides electric distribution service in portions of New Hampshire and Massachusetts and natural gas distribution service in parts of southern New Hampshire and central Massachusetts.

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