Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Announces Earnings Results

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $216.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.13 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 10.13% and a net margin of 9.60%.

Unitil Stock Up 0.9%

Unitil stock opened at $50.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $914.70 million, a PE ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.63. Unitil has a 12 month low of $44.61 and a 12 month high of $59.99.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Unitil’s payout ratio is 63.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unitil

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Unitil by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 10,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 69,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,380,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Unitil by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Unitil by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UTL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank began 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Unitil presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

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.