Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Unitil had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 9.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share.

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UTL traded up $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $56.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 60,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,613. Unitil has a 12-month low of $47.40 and a 12-month high of $63.52. The company has a market capitalization of $916.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.38 and a 200-day moving average of $57.57.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. This is an increase from Unitil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Unitil's payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Unitil in a research report on Wednesday.

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.