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

Key Points

• Unitil's stock rating has been reiterated as "hold (c)" by Weiss Ratings, indicating a cautious outlook for potential investors.
• For the quarter, Unitil reported $0.29 EPS, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $101 million.
• Institutional investors have recently increased their holdings, with 76.76% of the company's stock now owned by hedge funds and other institutional entities.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating restated by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Unitil Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Unitil stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 79,352. The stock has a market cap of $879.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.65. 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 twelve month low of $44.61 and a twelve month high of $61.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.00 and a 200-day moving average of $51.49.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 9.54% and a return on equity of 9.46%. Research analysts forecast that Unitil will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unitil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Unitil during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unitil by 45.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 882 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unitil by 27.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 887 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Unitil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $99,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Unitil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $100,000. 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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