Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Now Covered by Scotiabank

Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Unitil (NYSE:UTL) in a research note issued on Thursday. The firm set a “sector perform” rating and a $57.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target points to a potential upside of 5.61% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on UTL. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Unitil in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Unitil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UTL opened at $53.97 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $970.92 million, a P/E ratio of 17.99 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $52.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Unitil has a 1-year low of $44.61 and a 1-year high of $59.99.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $161.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.45 million. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 9.37%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Unitil will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unitil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UTL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Unitil by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,538,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,532,000 after acquiring an additional 67,456 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Unitil by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 721,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,939,000 after acquiring an additional 31,186 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 717,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,414,000 after acquiring an additional 108,254 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,103,000 after acquiring an additional 14,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 valued at $29,125,000 after purchasing an additional 291,325 shares during the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Unitil

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.