Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Hits New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $51.04 and last traded at $51.53, with a volume of 13657 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.28.

Unitil Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $842.76 million, a P/E ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.97.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.04). Unitil had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $207.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.03 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Unitil's payout ratio is 61.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unitil

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UTL. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 798.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 27.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil during the first quarter worth $99,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil during the first quarter worth $100,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 8,333.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Company Profile

Unitil Corporation, a public utility holding company, engages in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through two segments, Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations. The company distributes electricity in the southeastern seacoast and state capital regions of New Hampshire, and the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts; and distributes natural gas in southeastern New Hampshire and portions of southern and central Maine, including the city of Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn area, as well as electricity and natural gas in the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts.

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