Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Sets New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low 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 Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $830.63 million, a P/E ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.74 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $207.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.03 million. On average, research analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.52%. Unitil's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unitil

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of UTL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Unitil by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,365,282 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $78,763,000 after acquiring an additional 82,137 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Unitil by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 609,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,143,000 after acquiring an additional 48,225 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Unitil by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 560,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,398,000 after acquiring an additional 49,130 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Unitil by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 382,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Unitil by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 186,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,084,000 after acquiring an additional 19,631 shares during the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Unitil

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.