Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $48.75 and traded as high as $50.80. Unitil shares last traded at $50.3740, with a volume of 97,858 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Unitil Trading Down 0.1%

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $49.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $902.70 million, a PE ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $101.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $100.40 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 9.04%. As a group, analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.28%.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UTL. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 100.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Unitil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Unitil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

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.