Scotiabank Upgrades Unitil (NYSE:UTL) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Scotiabank upgraded Unitil (NYSE:UTL) to a "Hold" rating; the stock's consensus remains Hold with a consensus target price of $57.00, while some firms (e.g., Wall Street Zen) have moved it to "Buy".
• Unitil beat quarterly estimates, reporting $1.13 EPS versus $1.03 expected and $161.5M in revenue versus $144.45M, and analysts forecast about 3.08 EPS for the current year.
• Market snapshot: the stock opened at $54.53, trades in a 52-week range of $44.61–$59.99, has a market cap of roughly $981M and a P/E of 18.18, with institutional investors owning about 76.76%.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Scotiabank to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

UTL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Unitil from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Unitil has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Unitil Trading Down 1.0%

Unitil stock opened at $54.53 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.01. Unitil has a 52 week low of $44.61 and a 52 week high of $59.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $980.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.45.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.10. Unitil had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.45 million. Research analysts forecast that Unitil will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unitil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unitil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Unitil by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 568 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Unitil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Unitil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Unitil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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