Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Upgraded at Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. Janney Montgomery Scott currently has $66.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock.

MSEX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.00.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSEX opened at $55.17 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $988.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Middlesex Water has a 1 year low of $48.18 and a 1 year high of $70.73.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $44.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.79 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. As a group, research analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.43%.

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In other news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction on 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new stake in Middlesex Water in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. 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.