Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Hits New 52-Week High at $62.98

Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) shares 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 Trading Down 1.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $59.05 and its 200-day moving average is $54.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $997.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Unitil by 3.3% during the second 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 lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Unitil by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 492,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,505,000 after acquiring an additional 2,891 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Unitil during the 2nd quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

About Unitil

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.