Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Hits New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• Unitil Corporation's share price has reached a new 52-week low of $47.05 during trading, closing at $48.21 with a trading volume of 15,402 shares.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29 for the last quarter, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.28, and its revenue totaled $101 million, aligning with forecasts.
• Unitil announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 to be paid on August 28th, which translates to an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a dividend yield of 3.7%.

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $47.05 and last traded at $48.21, with a volume of 15402 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.12.

Unitil Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.32 and a 200-day moving average of $54.44. The firm has a market cap of $770.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 9.54%.The business had revenue of $101.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.00 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Unitil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Unitil by 798.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unitil during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Unitil by 45.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 882 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Unitil by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Unitil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $99,000. 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.