Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Price Target Raised to $61.00

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) had its target price increased by Robert W. Baird from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, Baird R W cut Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

MSEX stock opened at $64.27 on Friday. Middlesex Water has a 1 year low of $45.42 and a 1 year high of $73.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.92.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The firm had revenue of $55.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.52%.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Middlesex Water by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,427,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,650,000 after purchasing an additional 20,712 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the 1st quarter worth $266,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $981,000 after buying an additional 5,020 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 73.6% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 2,671 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in Middlesex Water by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 15,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middlesex Water Company Profile

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.