Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Unitil shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $55.68 before finishing near $54.97. The move came on relatively light volume of 6,314 shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly cautious, with several firms downgrading the stock to Hold and MarketBeat showing a consensus Hold rating with a $56.50 target price. Scotiabank recently set a $57 target while other reports were also neutral.
• The utility beat quarterly expectations, posting $1.88 EPS versus $1.86 expected and revenue of $216.9 million versus $179.13 million forecast. Unitil also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share, implying a 3.4% annualized yield.

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $55.68 and last traded at $54.9650, with a volume of 6314 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $55.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on UTL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unitil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Unitil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unitil to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Unitil in a report on Friday, April 10th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Unitil presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Unitil Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $991.88 million, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $216.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $179.13 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 9.89%. Equities analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Unitil's payout ratio is 60.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Unitil during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Unitil in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 196.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 610 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 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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