Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Unitil Corporation's stock experienced a significant increase in trading volume, with 183,393 shares traded, a rise of 135% from the previous session.
• The company reported earnings of $0.29 per share, surpassing analysts' estimates, and has a dividend yield of 3.8% following a recent quarterly dividend declaration.
• Institutional investors hold 76.76% of Unitil's stock, indicating strong confidence in the company's long-term prospects.

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 183,393 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 135% from the previous session's volume of 78,190 shares.The stock last traded at $47.18 and had previously closed at $47.22.

Unitil Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.58. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $47.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $829.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 0.65.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $101.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.00 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.54% and a return on equity of 9.46%. Research analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Unitil's payout ratio is 61.86%.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 1st quarter worth about $306,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Unitil by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,531 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 1,828 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 1st quarter worth about $220,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 1st quarter worth about $7,457,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Unitil by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,006,000 after buying an additional 2,505 shares in 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.

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