Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Unitil shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $55.19 compared with the $52.66 average, signaling improved recent price momentum.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Unitil has an overall “Hold” rating, with one Buy and five Hold recommendations, and an average price target of $58.67.
• The utility reported quarterly earnings and revenue above analyst expectations and maintains a $1.90 annualized dividend, yielding about 3.4%; institutional investors own 76.76% of the stock.

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $52.66 and traded as high as $55.19. Unitil shares last traded at $55.1510, with a volume of 87,978 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UTL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Unitil from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Huntington began coverage on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $63.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unitil has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.67.

Unitil Trading Up 0.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $52.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.66.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $117.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.4750 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Unitil's payout ratio is currently 59.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unitil

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UTL. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,250,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Unitil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,012,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Unitil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,285,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Unitil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,057,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Unitil in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,285,000. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

About Unitil

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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