Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Unitil Stock Up 0.3%

UTL stock opened at $53.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $956.00 million, a P/E ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 0.48. Unitil has a fifty-two week low of $44.61 and a fifty-two week high of $59.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.70 and a 200-day moving average of $48.88.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.10. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 9.37%.The firm had revenue of $161.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.45 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unitil will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unitil

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Unitil by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,538,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,532,000 after buying an additional 67,456 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Unitil by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 721,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,939,000 after acquiring an additional 31,186 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 717,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,414,000 after purchasing an additional 108,254 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,103,000 after purchasing an additional 14,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 94.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 601,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,125,000 after purchasing an additional 291,325 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.