Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)’s share price gapped down before the market opened 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 trading hands.

Unitil Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $979.90 million, a P/E ratio of 20.68 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $59.22 and its 200-day moving average is $56.07.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. Unitil had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.46%. The firm had revenue of $95.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. Analysts predict that Unitil Co. will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unitil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unitil by 402.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Unitil during the second quarter valued at $181,000. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the 2nd quarter worth $208,000. BOKF NA purchased a new position in shares of Unitil in the 2nd quarter worth $235,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 1st quarter worth about $243,000. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.