Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $51.52 and traded as high as $54.36. Unitil shares last traded at $53.9020, with a volume of 130,433 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Unitil in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.50.

Unitil Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $957.27 million, a P/E ratio of 16.84 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 quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 9.60%.The firm had revenue of $216.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.13 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Unitil’s payout ratio is presently 60.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unitil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Unitil in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Unitil in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Unitil by 196.1% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Unitil during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other 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.