Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Upgraded by Janney Montgomery Scott to “Buy” Rating

Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has $66.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

MSEX has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird raised Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:MSEX opened at $59.24 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $61.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88. 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 has a 1-year low of $48.18 and a 1-year high of $70.73.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $44.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.79 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. On average, equities analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middlesex Water

In other news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $3,129,325.60. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSEX. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 6,702.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 139,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,912,000 after purchasing an additional 136,989 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,471,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,440,000 after buying an additional 126,732 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 751.4% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 91,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,817,000 after buying an additional 80,779 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 187.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 92,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,871,000 after buying an additional 60,337 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Middlesex Water during the first quarter worth $3,306,000. Institutional investors 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.