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 report released on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Baird R W upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a 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 Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:MSEX opened at $59.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.72 and a 200 day moving average of $59.16. Middlesex Water has a 1-year low of $45.42 and a 1-year 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 results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $47.11 million during 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is 55.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlesex Water

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,471,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,440,000 after purchasing an additional 126,732 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,070,000 after purchasing an additional 53,098 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 434,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,356,000 after purchasing an additional 3,430 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 223,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,755,000 after purchasing an additional 23,289 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 214,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,983 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.