Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.00.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of Middlesex Water stock opened at $56.25 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88. Middlesex Water has a 12-month low of $48.18 and a 12-month high of $70.73. 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 (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). The company 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%. Analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total transaction of $244,223.35. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 771.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings 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 period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings 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 period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Middlesex Water during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 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.