Is a utils.py or utils.{hpp, cpp} file evidence of a poor design?

I occasionally see projects with a utils.py or a utils.{hpp,cpp}. It usually contains miscellaneous (utility) functions that didn't fit elsewhere in the design, and that don't have much else in common with each other.

Should this be considered a code smell, evidence of a poor design? or is it just inevitable that a several functions won't have a better place to go in a big project?