Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Hold”: Four of five analysts rate Unitil a hold, while one recommends buying the stock. The average 12-month price target is $56.50.
• Unitil reported quarterly earnings of $0.29 per share, exceeding the $0.26 consensus estimate, while revenue of $113.19 million matched expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share, equivalent to $1.90 annually and a 3.5% yield; institutional investors own 76.76% of outstanding shares.

Shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.50.

A number of research firms recently commented on UTL. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Unitil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Unitil from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of UTL opened at $53.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $982.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 0.31. Unitil has a 52-week low of $44.61 and a 52-week high of $57.26. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.41.

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

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Unitil's payout ratio is presently 59.94%.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unitil during the second quarter worth about $152,441,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Unitil by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,538,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,532,000 after buying an additional 67,456 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 721,277 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,939,000 after acquiring an additional 31,186 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Unitil by 17.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 717,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,414,000 after purchasing an additional 108,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 94.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 601,260 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,125,000 after purchasing an additional 291,325 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 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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