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Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Unitil logo with Utilities background
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Key Points

  • Wall Street Zen upgraded Unitil from "hold" to "buy" in its latest report, though Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" and the MarketBeat consensus remains "Hold".
  • Unitil beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $1.13 (vs. $1.03) and revenue of $161.5M (vs. $144.45M), and roughly 76.8% of the stock is held by institutions with several large funds increasing their positions.
  • MarketBeat previews the top five stocks to own by May 1st.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Unitil in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Unitil presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Read Our Latest Report on UTL

Unitil Price Performance

NYSE:UTL opened at $53.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $956.00 million, a PE ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 0.48. Unitil has a 12 month low of $44.61 and a 12 month high of $59.99. The company's 50-day moving average price is $50.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.88.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.10. Unitil had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The company had revenue of $161.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.45 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Unitil will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Unitil by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,538,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $74,532,000 after buying an additional 67,456 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Unitil by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 721,277 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,939,000 after acquiring an additional 31,186 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 17.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 717,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,414,000 after acquiring an additional 108,254 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 2.5% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Unitil by 94.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 601,260 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,125,000 after acquiring an additional 291,325 shares in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Unitil

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

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