StockNews.com Upgrades Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) to “Hold”

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

Several other analysts have also commented on MSEX. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Baird R W upgraded Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSEX opened at $63.48 on Friday. 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 $54.85 and its 200 day moving average is $59.08. The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $45.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total transaction of $244,223.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 9.4% in the fourth 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. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,070,000 after buying an additional 53,098 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 434,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,356,000 after acquiring an additional 3,430 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 223,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,755,000 after acquiring an additional 23,289 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 214,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,311,000 after acquiring an additional 6,983 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.