Brokerages Set Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) Target Price at $57.00

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

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Unitil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Unitil in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Unitil to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of UTL stock opened at $50.15 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $902.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.33. 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 has a 52 week low of $44.61 and a 52 week high of $55.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.69.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $216.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.13 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 9.89%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Unitil will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Unitil’s payout ratio is 60.13%.

Institutional Trading of Unitil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Unitil by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,538,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,532,000 after purchasing an additional 67,456 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 721,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,939,000 after buying an additional 31,186 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 17.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 717,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,414,000 after buying an additional 108,254 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 2.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,103,000 after buying an additional 14,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 94.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 601,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,125,000 after buying an additional 291,325 shares in the last quarter. 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.