Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $56.76, but opened at $53.85. Unitil shares last traded at $56.70, with a volume of 10,971 shares traded.

Unitil Stock Down 0.6 %

The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $912.31 million, a PE ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 0.61.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $94.00 million. Unitil had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 9.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Unitil's payout ratio is presently 56.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unitil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UTL. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Unitil by 3.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Unitil by 1.2% in the first quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 25,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Unitil by 1.6% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 9.1% in the third quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 5,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 5.0% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $633,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

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.