Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Stock Price Down 4% – Should You Sell?

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) fell 4% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $60.50 and last traded at $59.70. 10,386 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 120,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSEX. StockNews.com downgraded Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird raised Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Baird R W raised Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 1.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.21. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released 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 return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The company had revenue of $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlesex Water

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 771.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Middlesex Water by 1,006.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Middlesex Water during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter worth about $230,000. 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.