Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $55.59 and last traded at $54.8150, with a volume of 16743 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UTL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Freedom Capital cut shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Unitil in a report on Friday, April 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.50.

Unitil Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $51.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $979.50 million, a P/E ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 0.31.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Unitil had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The company had revenue of $216.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.13 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Unitil’s payout ratio is currently 60.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unitil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UTL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Unitil by 94.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 601,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,125,000 after purchasing an additional 291,325 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unitil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,836,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 17.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 717,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,414,000 after buying an additional 108,254 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Unitil by 23.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 490,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,600,000 after buying an additional 93,101 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Unitil by 98.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 146,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,120,000 after buying an additional 72,959 shares during the period. 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.