Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on MSEX. Bank of America began coverage on Middlesex Water in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ MSEX opened at $60.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.09, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $45.42 and a 52 week high of $70.73.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is currently 55.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 771.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,006.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter valued at about $230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

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.