Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyShares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL – Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $50.39 and traded as high as $52.23. Unitil shares last traded at $51.6350, with a volume of 79,462 shares.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Unitil in a report on Friday, April 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Unitil presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.00.
Unitil Stock Down 0.1%
The company has a market cap of $950.05 million, a PE ratio of 17.60 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.45.
Unitil (NYSE:UTL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.10. Unitil had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The company had revenue of $161.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.45 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Unitil Corporation will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Unitil Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 12th. Unitil’s payout ratio is currently 63.33%.
Institutional Trading of Unitil
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Unitil by 37.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Unitil by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Unitil by 64.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,000,000 after buying an additional 34,017 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Unitil by 18.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 67,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after buying an additional 10,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Unitil by 63.3% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 33,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.
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.