Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Friday.
MSEX has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a report 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, Janney Montgomery Scott restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Middlesex Water presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.50.
View Our Latest Report on MSEX
Middlesex Water Stock Down 1.9 %
NASDAQ:MSEX traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,886. Middlesex Water has a 1 year low of $47.58 and a 1 year high of $70.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.50 and a 200-day moving average of $58.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.
Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) 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. The company had revenue of $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related 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 value of $244,223.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares of the company's stock, 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 the SEC website. 1.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Middlesex Water by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,471,404 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $77,440,000 after acquiring an additional 126,732 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 7.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,070,000 after acquiring an additional 53,098 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 0.8% during the third 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 period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 11.6% during the fourth 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 grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 214,913 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,311,000 after acquiring an additional 6,983 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Middlesex Water
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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