Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unitil (NYSE:UTL) to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on UTL. Wall Street Zen lowered Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Unitil in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.00.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of UTL opened at $53.32 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $959.03 million, a P/E ratio of 17.77 and a beta of 0.45. Unitil has a 52 week low of $44.61 and a 52 week high of $59.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.20. 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 posted its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 9.37%. Equities analysts forecast that Unitil will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This is a boost from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 12th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.33%.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UTL. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unitil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Unitil by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Unitil during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil during the third quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors 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.