Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEXGet Free Report)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $54.45 and traded as high as $55.76. Middlesex Water shares last traded at $55.23, with a volume of 119,679 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MSEX shares. Robert W. Baird set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, New Street Research set a $64.00 price target on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.67.

View Our Latest Analysis on MSEX

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.45.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEXGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $56.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.51 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 23.26%.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is currently 55.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middlesex Water news, VP Lorrie Ginegaw sold 615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.61, for a total transaction of $35,430.15. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $229,172.58. This represents a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Middlesex Water in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $176,031,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Middlesex Water during the 2nd quarter valued at $24,570,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the second quarter worth $10,054,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the second quarter worth $7,264,000. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the second quarter worth $4,820,000. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Middlesex Water

(Get Free Report)

Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ: MSEX) is a regulated water and wastewater utility that owns and operates systems serving residential, commercial, industrial and public-sector customers. Its core activities include the collection, treatment, storage and distribution of potable water, as well as wastewater collection and treatment services.

The company’s principal service territory is in central New Jersey, where it supplies water to communities and operates related wastewater facilities.

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