Unitil Q1 net income rises on higher margins

Overview

• US electric and gas utility's Q1 net income rose yr/yr

• Company cites higher electric and gas gross margins from rates, customer growth, and colder weather

• Quarterly dividend maintained at $0.475 per share

Outlook

• Unitil did not provide specific guidance for the current quarter or full year

Result Drivers

• ELECTRIC MARGIN - Higher rates drove electric gross margin increase, partially offset by higher depreciation and a one-time FERC transmission revenue reduction

• GAS MARGIN - Higher rates, customer growth, and colder winter weather boosted gas gross margin, with Maine Natural acquisition contributing

• COSTS AND ACQUISITIONS - O&M expenses rose on higher utility operating costs and acquisition impacts, but legacy O&M expenses declined when excluding Maine Natural and transaction costs

Company press release: ID:nGNX9JHkqY

Key Details

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 1 "strong buy" or "buy", 1 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

• The average consensus recommendation for the multiline utilities peer group is "buy"

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Unitil Corp is $56.50, about 9% above its May 1 closing price of $51.85

• The stock recently traded at 15 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 17 three months ago

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