StockNews.com Upgrades Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) to “Hold”

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

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

Middlesex Water Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSEX opened at $59.46 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $45.42 and a 1 year high of $70.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.19. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The business had revenue of $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.00 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSEX. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Middlesex Water by 771.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter valued at $230,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

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.