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Unitil
(NYSE:UTL)
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Rating:67Neutral
Price Target:
$58.00
▲(4.35% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:08/04/26
UTL’s score is driven primarily by solid profitability and a constructive earnings outlook with reaffirmed guidance and strong first-half execution, partially offset by persistently negative free cash flow and funding dependence. Technicals are moderately positive but not strongly bullish, while valuation and dividend yield are supportive.
Positive Factors
Regulated business model & authorized returns
Unitil’s regulated utility model and a TTM ROE near 9.6% signal durable earnings supported by rate-setting mechanisms. Authorized returns and cost-recovery frameworks provide predictable revenue and margin beds, underpinning steady medium-term cash flows and earnings stability.
Negative Factors
Persistent negative free cash flow
Consistently negative free cash flow means capital spending exceeds internally generated cash. Over the medium term this forces continual external financing, increasing financing cost and dilution risk, and reduces balance sheet flexibility despite steady regulated earnings.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Regulated business model & authorized returns
Unitil’s regulated utility model and a TTM ROE near 9.6% signal durable earnings supported by rate-setting mechanisms. Authorized returns and cost-recovery frameworks provide predictable revenue and margin beds, underpinning steady medium-term cash flows and earnings stability.
Read all positive factors
Unitil Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Unitil (UTL) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$970.42M
Dividend Yield3.43%
Average Volume (3M)118.27K
Price to Earnings (P/E)17.1
Beta (1Y)0.09
Revenue Growth19.55%
EPS Growth6.74%
CountryUS
Employees595
SectorUtilities
Sector Strength65
IndustryDiversified Utilities
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)3.17
Shares Outstanding17,990,810
10 Day Avg. Volume84,360
30 Day Avg. Volume118,266
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio11.95
Price to Book (P/B)1.40
Price to Sales (P/S)1.59
P/FCF Ratio-15.84
Enterprise Value/Market Cap<0.01
Enterprise Value/Revenue<0.01
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit<0.01
Enterprise Value/Ebitda<0.01
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$55.00Price Target Upside-1.04% Downside
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering1
EPS Forecast (FY)3.27
Revenue Forecast (FY)$592.21M
Unitil Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Unitil Corporation functions as a public utility holding company, with its primary operations centered on the provision of electricity and natural gas. The company's activities are categorized into three main divisions: Utility Electric Operations...
How the Company Makes Money
Unitil primarily makes money through regulated utility operations, earning revenue by delivering electricity and natural gas to customers within its state-regulated service territories. Its main revenue streams are: (1) Electric distribution reven...
Unitil Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Aug 03, 2026
(Q2-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Nov 09, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call emphasized multiple clear financial and operational positives — solid H1 earnings growth (~7% YoY), double-digit increases in electric (14.8%) and gas (~13.5%) adjusted gross margins, successful NH water acquisition, strong customer satisfaction (90%), and growing natural gas demand — while acknowledging manageable headwinds from higher O&M and other expenses, elevated capex/rate-base growth and ongoing regulatory proceedings that could delay full rate recovery. On balance, the highlights substantially outweigh the lowlights, indicating a constructive outlook with execution and regulatory timing as primary watch items.Positive Updates
Strong First-Half Earnings and Q2 Results
Adjusted net income of $5.2M for Q2 2026 (adjusted EPS $0.29). For the first six months, adjusted net income of $39M, or $2.17 per share, up $5.9M (EPS +$0.14), nearly a 7% increase vs. H1 2025.
Negative Updates
Higher Operating and Maintenance Expenses
Operation & maintenance expenses increased $3.3M in H1, driven by $2.6M higher utility operating costs and $1.5M higher labor/other costs; Maine Natural Gas contributed $2.7M of utility O&M. These cost increases partially offset margin gains.
Read all updates
Q2-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong First-Half Earnings and Q2 Results
Adjusted net income of $5.2M for Q2 2026 (adjusted EPS $0.29). For the first six months, adjusted net income of $39M, or $2.17 per share, up $5.9M (EPS +$0.14), nearly a 7% increase vs. H1 2025.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Unitil reaffirmed 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $3.20–$3.36 (midpoint $3.28) and reiterated long‑term earnings growth guidance of 5%–7%, supported by strong first‑half results (Q2 adjusted net income $5.2M / $0.29 EPS; H1 adjusted net income $39M / $2.17 EPS, +$0.14 or ~7% vs. H1 2025) and a $1.2B five‑year (through 2030) capital plan (up 24%), which raised rate base roughly $200M (+14.9% YoY) after acquisitions; management expects the June 30 Aquarion NH/Abenaki purchase ($55.8M, incl. $13.7M LT debt) to be EPS‑neutral in 2026 and accretive once new distribution rates take effect, while Northern Utilities rate cases seek ~$9.8M (NH permanent; $5.5M temporary effective June 1) and $10.4M (Maine) with NH permanent rates expected 4/1/2027; other metrics cited include AMI costs (~31k meters / $10M MA; NH total ~80k meters with ~21k replaced, ~$30M cost), combined electric and gas adjusted gross margin up $22.5M (electric $61.2M, +14.8%; gas $122.7M, +13.5%), ~6,600 new gas customers YTD (≈1,500 new under contract/in construction), 52% of gas customers on decoupling, S&P‑adjusted FFO‑to‑debt 17.2%, $11M equity issued via ATM in Q2 (≈$37.5M ATM capacity remaining), and a $60M holding‑co note priced in June (closing expected in Sept.).Unitil Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
74
Positive
Balance Sheet
63
Positive
Cash Flow
45
Neutral
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 596.50M | 536.00M | 494.80M | 557.10M | 563.20M | 473.30M |
| Gross Profit | 294.30M | 221.20M | 196.60M | 183.00M | 169.00M | 161.80M |
| EBITDA | 210.80M | 198.00M | 174.90M | 160.70M | 143.50M | 134.30M |
| Net Income | 56.60M | 50.20M | 47.10M | 45.20M | 41.40M | 36.10M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 2.22B | 2.15B | 1.79B | 1.67B | 1.59B | 1.54B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 9.20M | 15.60M | 6.30M | 6.50M | 9.00M | 6.50M |
| Total Debt | 956.00M | 938.70M | 755.80M | 681.60M | 616.10M | 578.20M |
| Total Liabilities | 1.58B | 1.54B | 1.28B | 1.18B | 1.12B | 1.09B |
| Stockholders Equity | 643.70M | 609.60M | 512.50M | 489.30M | 467.60M | 448.50M |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | -45.50M | -53.80M | -44.00M | -34.00M | -24.40M | -7.20M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 142.80M | 131.30M | 125.90M | 107.00M | 97.70M | 107.80M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -319.90M | -345.50M | -169.90M | -141.00M | -122.10M | -115.00M |
| Financing Cash Flow | 177.80M | 223.50M | 43.80M | 31.50M | 26.90M | 7.70M |
Unitil Technical Analysis
Neutral
55.58
Price Trends
52.68
Positive
52.25
Positive
50.64
Positive
Market Momentum
0.30
Positive
49.97
Neutral
33.52
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For UTL, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 55.58 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 54.33, above the 50-day MA of 52.68, and above the 200-day MA of 50.64, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.30 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 49.97 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 33.52 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for UTL.
Unitil Risk Analysis
Unitil disclosed 19 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Unitil reported the most risks in the "Production" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Unitil Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (66)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
68 Neutral | $3.00B | 20.39 | 10.94% | 2.31% | 8.91% | 10.48% | |
67 Neutral | $970.42M | 17.06 | 9.11% | 3.33% | 19.55% | 6.74% | |
66 Neutral | $3.71B | 13.20 | 15.21% | 2.39% | -0.54% | -5.27% | |
66 Neutral | $17.65B | 18.10 | 5.60% | 3.62% | 6.62% | 11.55% | |
60 Neutral | $4.23B | 24.64 | 5.92% | 3.65% | 10.69% | -24.15% | |
56 Neutral | $3.34B | 16.05 | 8.29% | 4.67% | -1.47% | 7.23% | |
52 Neutral | $2.23B | 17.46 | 8.09% | ― | -8.57% | ― |
* Utilities Sector Average
UTL
Unitil
53.80
6.43
13.57%
AVA
Avista
38.42
2.35
6.51%
HE
Hawaiian Electric
12.49
1.45
13.13%
MGEE
MGE Energy
80.85
-1.35
-1.65%
NWE
Northwestern
70.27
17.12
32.21%
OTTR
Otter Tail
93.05
15.42
19.86%
Unitil Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyM&A TransactionsPrivate Placements and Financing
Unitil Closes New Hampshire Water Utility Acquisitions
Positive
Jul 7, 2026
On June 30, 2026, Unitil closed its purchase of Aquarion Water Company of New Hampshire and Abenaki Water Co. from Aquarion Water Authority for a total purchase price of $55.8 million, including the assumption of $13.7 million of debt and about $0...
Business Operations and StrategyM&A Transactions
Unitil Extends Aquarion Water Acquisition Agreement to June
Positive
May 27, 2026
Unitil Corporation has been working since May 6, 2025 to acquire all outstanding shares of Aquarion Water Company of Massachusetts, Aquarion Water Company of New Hampshire and Abenaki Water Co. from Aquarion Water Authority, in a deal that would b...
Business Operations and StrategyDividendsFinancial DisclosuresM&A Transactions
Unitil Showcases Growth Strategy at AGA Financial Forum
Positive
May 15, 2026
From May 17 to May 19, 2026, Unitil Corporation plans to participate in the American Gas Association Financial Forum and has posted an investor presentation outlining its current strategy and performance. The materials emphasize Unitil’s rec...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Unitil Subsidiary Issues Senior Notes for Refinancing Needs
Positive
May 5, 2026
On April 30, 2026, Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company, a Unitil utility subsidiary, entered into a Note Purchase Agreement with institutional investors to issue $23 million of 5.62% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2036 and $17 million of 5.87% Se...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.