Unitil's (UTL) "Hold (C)" Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Unitil's stock has been reiterated with a "hold (c)" rating by Weiss Ratings, indicating a neutral outlook from analysts.
• The stock price of Unitil rose 1.1% to $47.93 during mid-day trading, with a market capitalization of approximately $847.88 million.
• Hedge funds and institutional investors hold 76.76% of Unitil's stock, with notable increases in stakes from several firms in the first quarter.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating restated by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Unitil Stock Up 1.1%

Unitil stock traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.93. The stock had a trading volume of 62,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 79,493. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $44.61 and a fifty-two week high of $61.51. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $47.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $847.88 million, a PE ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.65.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $101.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.00 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 9.54%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Unitil will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UTL. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Unitil by 7,273.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 51,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,952,000 after purchasing an additional 50,477 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Unitil by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 14,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $837,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Unitil by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 66,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,844,000 after acquiring an additional 10,100 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Unitil in the 1st quarter worth about $687,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Unitil by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,505 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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