Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $55.68 and last traded at $54.9650, with a volume of 6314 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on UTL. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.50.

Unitil Stock Down 0.4%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $52.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.79. The company has a market cap of $991.88 million, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 9.60%.The business had revenue of $216.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.13 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Unitil’s payout ratio is presently 60.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unitil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UTL. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Unitil in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Unitil by 196.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Unitil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $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.