Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $48.75 and traded as high as $50.80. Unitil shares last traded at $50.3740, with a volume of 97,858 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on UTL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Unitil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.00.

Unitil Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.20 and a 200 day moving average of $48.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $878.98 million, a PE ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 0.50.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.06. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 9.32%.The business had revenue of $101.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $100.40 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Unitil Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unitil

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UTL. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Unitil by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Unitil in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Unitil in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unitil during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 45.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 277 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.