Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Key Points

• Unitil reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29, surpassing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a yield of 3.5%.
• Institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in Unitil, with 76.76% of the stock now owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01, Zacks reports. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 9.74%.

Unitil Price Performance

UTL traded up $0.30 on Monday, hitting $52.11. 67,134 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 64,531. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $52.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.79. The firm has a market cap of $847.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 0.66. Unitil has a one year low of $50.34 and a one year high of $63.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unitil

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Unitil by 4.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,478 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Unitil by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,083 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Unitil by 63.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 33,529 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Unitil by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 67,293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,882,000 after buying an additional 10,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 64.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,678 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,000,000 after buying an additional 34,017 shares in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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