Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Stock Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) shares crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.50 and traded as high as $57.29. Middlesex Water shares last traded at $56.79, with a volume of 174,955 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Middlesex Water from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. New Street Research set a $64.00 price target on shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $66.00 target price on Middlesex Water in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.67.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 2.6%

The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $60.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.90 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 24.50%.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middlesex Water news, VP Lorrie Ginegaw sold 615 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.61, for a total transaction of $35,430.15. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,978 shares in the company, valued at $229,172.58. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the second quarter worth $176,031,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,570,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 345,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,998,000 after purchasing an additional 3,045 shares during the last quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Middlesex Water by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC now owns 221,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the second quarter valued at about $10,054,000. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middlesex Water Company Profile

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

Founded in 1897, the company primarily serves communities in New Jersey and Delaware through its regulated utility operations. Its New Jersey service area includes portions of Middlesex, Union, Somerset and Mercer counties, while its Delaware operations serve customers through the Tidewater Utilities subsidiary.

Middlesex Water also provides contract operations, maintenance and related services for municipal and other public water and wastewater systems.