Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) Receives $56.50 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.50.

Several analysts have commented on UTL shares. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Unitil in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Unitil in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Unitil in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Trading Down 1.0%

UTL opened at $53.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $971.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Unitil has a 12 month low of $44.61 and a 12 month high of $57.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.07.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $216.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.13 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Unitil will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.13%.

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.