Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Unitil shares moved above their 200-day moving average, trading as high as $54.36 and last near $53.90, up about 1.6% on the day.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly neutral, with several firms rating the stock Hold and a consensus target price of $56.50.
• The utility reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.88 per share on revenue of $216.9 million, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.475, implying a 3.5% yield.

Shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $51.52 and traded as high as $54.36. Unitil shares last traded at $53.9020, with a volume of 130,433 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UTL shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Unitil to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Unitil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Unitil in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered shares of Unitil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Unitil Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.49 and a 200 day moving average of $51.52. The firm has a market cap of $969.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

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

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Unitil's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unitil

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTL. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 85.8% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 89,862 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,301,000 after acquiring an additional 41,490 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,084 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,103,000 after acquiring an additional 14,894 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Unitil by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,538,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,532,000 after acquiring an additional 67,456 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Unitil by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Unitil by 101.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Unitil

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.