Huntington Sec Begins Coverage on Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Equities researchers at Huntington Sec began coverage on shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, Zacks reports. The firm set a “strong-buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

MSEX has been the subject of several other research reports. Freedom Broker increased their price objective on Middlesex Water from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. New Street Research set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.75.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

MSEX opened at $57.64 on Friday. Middlesex Water has a 52-week low of $48.19 and a 52-week high of $59.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.51. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.24.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $60.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.90 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 10.08% and a net margin of 24.50%.

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In other Middlesex Water news, VP Lorrie Ginegaw sold 615 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $229,172.58. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MSEX. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 35.6% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 177,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,415,000 after buying an additional 46,667 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the third quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 5.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 29,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,540,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by 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.