Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Issues Quarterly 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $101.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.00 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.54% and a return on equity of 9.46%.

Unitil Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE UTL traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.25. The stock had a trading volume of 8,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 64,606. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $802.30 million, a PE ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 0.66. Unitil has a twelve month low of $48.72 and a twelve month high of $63.52.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders 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 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.86%.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

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

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.