Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MSEX. Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of 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. Baird R W upgraded shares of 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 shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 1.9 %

MSEX stock traded up $1.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $61.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 152,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,593. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.80. Middlesex Water has a 1 year low of $45.42 and a 1 year high of $70.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.92.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,325.60. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 6,702.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 139,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,912,000 after buying an additional 136,989 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 56,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,993,000 after acquiring an additional 7,562 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 119.0% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 25,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 13,786 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the fourth quarter valued at about $829,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 133,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 15,878 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.