Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Shares Gap Down to $59.41

Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $59.41, but opened at $57.17. Unitil shares last traded at $58.61, with a volume of 1,336 shares trading hands.

Unitil Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $934.03 million, a PE ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 0.60.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.11. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.84% and a net margin of 9.37%. The business had revenue of $178.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.00 million. Equities research analysts expect that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Unitil’s payout ratio is 56.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Unitil by 402.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at $131,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Unitil during the 1st quarter valued at $161,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp bought a new stake in Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at $208,000. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unitil Company Profile

Unitil Corporation, a public utility holding company, engages in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through two segments, Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations. The company distributes electricity in the southeastern seacoast and state capital regions of New Hampshire, and the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts; and distributes natural gas in southeastern New Hampshire and portions of southern and central Maine, including the city of Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn area, as well as electricity and natural gas in the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts.