Unitil Corp (UTL) stock analysis

P/E below its 5-year median

Unitil's P/E of 18.1 is below its own 5-year median of 18.4.

P/E below the industry

Unitil's P/E of 18.1 is below the Combination Electric and Gas, and Other Utility median of 19.2.

EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median

Unitil's EV/EBITDA of 17.7 is above its 5-year median of 17.4.

P/B below the industry

Unitil's price-to-book of 1.59 is below the Combination Electric and Gas, and Other Utility median of 1.74.

Trading above fair value

The share price of $55.89 is above our fair value estimate of $52.26.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 6.9% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew -1.6% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing under 10% a year

Diluted EPS grew 4.7% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth accelerating

Net income grew 18.4% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 9.3% a year.

Growing faster than the industry

Revenue grew 21.1% over the last twelve months; the Combination Electric and Gas, and Other Utility median is 5.2%.

Company guidance

No outlook found in earnings releases from the last twelve months.

Gross margin trend

This company does not report gross profit.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was 9.0% over the last twelve months and averaged 9.1% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on capital under 10%

Return on invested capital was 5.7%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity below the industry

Unitil's return on equity of 9.0% is below the Combination Electric and Gas, and Other Utility median of 9.2%.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 9.3% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin above its 5-year average

Net margin was 9.1% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 8.4%.

Net margin below the industry

Unitil's net margin of 9.1% is below the Combination Electric and Gas, and Other Utility median of 12.7%.

High debt

Debt is 154% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt rising against equity

Debt to equity rose from 151% five years ago to 154%.

Debt not well covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 16.4% of total debt; we look for at least 20%.

Interest coverage

Interest expense is not reported separately.

Short-term assets don't cover short-term debts

Current assets are 0.50 times current liabilities.

Elevated bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 0.83; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Unitil paid dividends worth 3.4% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 3.4% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Unitil yields 3.4%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 10 fiscal years.

Covered by earnings

Dividends take 61.0% of net income.

Cash-flow cover

Needs dividends paid and free cash flow.