Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Coverage Initiated at Scotiabank

Equities research analysts at Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Unitil (NYSE:UTL) in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective points to a potential upside of 4.53% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Unitil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.00.

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UTL opened at $54.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $980.99 million, a P/E ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.45. Unitil has a one year low of $44.61 and a one year high of $59.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $52.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $161.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.45 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.38%. Analysts forecast that Unitil will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unitil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,471,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,411,000 after buying an additional 68,820 shares in the last quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,031,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 195.9% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 43,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,094,000 after buying an additional 28,973 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 3rd quarter worth about $13,162,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 36.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 43,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,064,000 after buying an additional 11,534 shares in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unitil Company Profile

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.