Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Given Neutral Rating at Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) in a report published on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MSEX. Baird R W upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Middlesex Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of MSEX stock opened at $63.76 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. Middlesex Water has a 1 year low of $45.42 and a 1 year high of $70.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.06%.

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In related news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total transaction of $244,223.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 52,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,129,325.60. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 19,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 6,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Middlesex Water by 771.9% during the fourth 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. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Middlesex Water by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 20,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 443 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.