Unitil Corporation (UTL) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.48 on May 29th

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of 0.475 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, May 29th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th.

Unitil has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Unitil has a payout ratio of 57.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Unitil to earn $3.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.90 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.1%.

Unitil Stock Up 0.5%

UTL stock opened at $52.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $941.76 million, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Unitil has a 12 month low of $44.61 and a 12 month high of $59.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $52.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.58.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $161.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.45 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.38%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Unitil will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UTL. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Unitil in a report on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

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.