Middlesex Water (MSEX) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. The Non-Regulated segment provides non-regulated contract services for the operation and maintenance of municipal and private water and wastewater systems in New Jersey and Delaware. Middlesex Water Company was incorporated in 1896 and is headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $54.04 to $55.81
• 50-Day Range: $54.77 to $69.70
• 52-Week Range: $45.42 to $70.73
• Volume: 353,211 shs
• Average Volume: 131,131 shs
• Market Capitalization: $977.92 million
• P/E Ratio: 23.81
• Dividend Yield: 2.48%
• Price Target: $58.50
• Consensus Rating: Reduce

Middlesex Water Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Middlesex Water scored higher than 45% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 72nd out of 91 stocks in the utilities sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 0.8 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Reduce

Consensus Rating

Middlesex Water has received a consensus rating of Reduce. The company's average rating score is 1.67, and is based on no buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Middlesex Water has only been the subject of 2 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 3.42%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Middlesex Water are expected to grow by 3.42% in the coming year, from $2.34 to $2.42 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Middlesex Water is 23.81, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 113.29.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Middlesex Water is 23.81, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Utilities sector average P/E ratio of about 95.36.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Middlesex Water has a PEG Ratio of 1.82. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Middlesex Water has a P/B Ratio of 2.31. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

4.73% of the float of Middlesex Water has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Middlesex Water has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 8.8.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Middlesex Water has recently decreased by 4.06%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

Dividend

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

Middlesex Water pays a meaningful dividend of 2.45%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Middlesex Water has been increasing its dividend for 52 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Middlesex Water is 59.13%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Middlesex Water will have a dividend payout ratio of 56.20% next year. This indicates that Middlesex Water will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

4.73% of the float of Middlesex Water has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Middlesex Water has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 8.8.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Middlesex Water has recently decreased by 4.06%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.6 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.67

News Sentiment

Middlesex Water has a news sentiment score of 0.67. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This news sentiment score is similar to the average news sentiment of Utilities companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 2 news articles for Middlesex Water this week, compared to 2 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

2 people have searched for MSEX on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 100% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

1 people have added Middlesex Water to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Middlesex Water insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 1.86% of the stock of Middlesex Water is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

79.52% of the stock of Middlesex Water is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

MSEX Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have MSEX shares performed this year?

Middlesex Water's stock was trading at $65.62 at the beginning of the year. Since then, MSEX stock has decreased by 16.5% and is now trading at $54.77.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.

How were Middlesex Water's earnings last quarter?

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October, 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The utilities provider earned $55.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $50 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 9.58%.

Who are Middlesex Water's major shareholders?

Middlesex Water's top institutional investors include State Street Corp (4.56%), Geode Capital Management LLC (2.43%), KBC Group NV (1.43%) and Thematics Asset Management (1.01%). Insiders that own company stock include James F Jr Cosgrove, Walter G Reinhard, Bernadette M Sohler, Robert John Capko, Lorrie Beth Ginegaw, G Christian Jr Andreasen and Dennis W Doll.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Middlesex Water?

Shares of MSEX stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of Middlesex Water own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Middlesex Water investors own include Waste Connections (WCN), The RMR Group (RMR), iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), American Water Works (AWK), AUO (AUOTY) and Triple Flag Precious Metals (TFPM).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 10/31/2024
• Ex-Dividend for 12/2 Dividend: 11/15/2024
• Dividend Payable: 12/02/2024
• Today: 12/21/2024
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2024

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Utilities
• Industry: Water supply
• Sub-Industry: Water Utilities
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:MSEX
• CUSIP: 59668010
• CIK: 66004
• Web: www.middlesexwater.com
• Phone: (732) 634-1500
• Fax: 732-638-7515
• Employees: 350
• Year Founded: 1897

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $58.50
• High Stock Price Target: $61.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $56.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +6.8%
• Consensus Rating: Reduce
• Rating Score (0-4): 1.67
• Research Coverage: 3 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $2.30
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 23.81
• Forward P/E Ratio: 23.41
• P/E Growth: 1.82
• Net Income: $31.52 million
• Net Margins: 22.53%
• Pretax Margin: 25.97%
• Return on Equity: 9.58%
• Return on Assets: 3.31%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.80
• Current Ratio: 0.65
• Quick Ratio: 0.57

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $183.37 million
• Price / Sales: 5.33
• Cash Flow: $3.16 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 17.35
• Book Value: $23.75 per share
• Price / Book: 2.31

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 17,855,000
• Free Float: 17,523,000
• Market Cap: $977.92 million
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.82