Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 target price for 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.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 0.9 %

MSEX stock opened at $58.97 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. 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 twelve month low of $45.42 and a twelve month high of $70.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.17.

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

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSEX. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,471,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,440,000 after purchasing an additional 126,732 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Middlesex Water by 751.4% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 91,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,817,000 after buying an additional 80,779 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 187.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 92,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,871,000 after buying an additional 60,337 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in 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 buying an additional 53,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter worth $2,619,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.