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

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

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

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSEX opened at $63.48 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. Middlesex Water has a twelve month low of $45.42 and a twelve month high of $70.73.

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 company had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middlesex Water

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total transaction of $244,223.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,325.60. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSEX. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,006.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter worth $230,000. 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.