Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Sets New 12-Month High at $62.98

Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $62.98 and last traded at $62.89, with a volume of 8835 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.90.

Unitil Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $58.63 and its 200 day moving average is $53.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $95.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.00 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 9.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unitil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Unitil by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unitil by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 22,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 4,393 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Unitil by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 492,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,505,000 after acquiring an additional 2,891 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unitil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Unitil by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 35,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154 shares during the period. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Company Profile

Unitil Corporation, a public utility holding company, engages in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through two segments, Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations. The company distributes electricity in the southeastern seacoast and state capital regions of New Hampshire, and the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts; and distributes natural gas in southeastern New Hampshire and portions of southern and central Maine, including the city of Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn area, as well as electricity and natural gas in the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts.