Middlesex Water (MSEX) Competitors

York Water (NASDAQ:YORW) and Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of YORW or MSEX?

49.9% of York Water shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.5% of Middlesex Water shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of York Water shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Middlesex Water shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more risk and volatility, YORW or MSEX?

York Water has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Middlesex Water has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is YORW or MSEX more profitable?

York Water has a net margin of 25.83% compared to Middlesex Water's net margin of 22.15%. Middlesex Water's return on equity of 9.67% beat York Water's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
York Water	25.83%	8.54%	3.12%
Middlesex Water	22.15%	9.67%	3.42%

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, YORW or MSEX?

Middlesex Water has higher revenue and earnings than York Water. Middlesex Water is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than York Water, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
York Water	$74.96M	6.00	$20.33M	$1.37	22.80
Middlesex Water	$191.88M	5.07	$44.35M	$2.42	22.33

Does the media favor YORW or MSEX?

In the previous week, York Water had 5 more articles in the media than Middlesex Water. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for York Water and 2 mentions for Middlesex Water. York Water's average media sentiment score of 1.05 beat Middlesex Water's score of 0.94 indicating that York Water is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
York Water	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Middlesex Water	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend YORW or MSEX?

Middlesex Water has a consensus target price of $61.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.90%. Given Middlesex Water's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Middlesex Water is more favorable than York Water.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
York Water	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Middlesex Water	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Is YORW or MSEX a better dividend stock?

York Water pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Middlesex Water pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. York Water pays out 64.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Middlesex Water pays out 56.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. York Water has raised its dividend for 27 consecutive years and Middlesex Water has raised its dividend for 52 consecutive years.

Summary

Middlesex Water beats York Water on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.