Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of Middlesex Water stock opened at $63.48 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $54.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. Middlesex Water has a fifty-two week low of $45.42 and a fifty-two week high of $70.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.00 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total transaction of $244,223.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water during the third quarter worth approximately $230,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $271,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 167,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,913,000 after buying an additional 6,844 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Middlesex Water

Middlesex Water Company owns and operates regulated water utility and wastewater systems. It operates in Regulated and Non-Regulated segments. The Regulated segment collects, treats, and distributes water on a retail and wholesale basis to residential, commercial, industrial, and fire protection customers, as well as provides regulated wastewater systems in New Jersey and Delaware.