Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on MSEX. Robert W. Baird raised Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. 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 target price for the company.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of MSEX stock opened at $58.03 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.18. 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 12-month low of $45.42 and a 12-month high of $70.73.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSEX. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 771.9% during 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 last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,006.4% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the third quarter worth $210,000. 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.