Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Trading 7.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX)’s share price traded up 7.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $53.32 and last traded at $53.7910. 95,019 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 145,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Middlesex Water from $73.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.67.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 9.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $983.91 million, a PE ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.88.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $54.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.08 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 22.15%. Analysts forecast that Middlesex Water Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This is a positive change from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Middlesex Water by 128.3% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Middlesex Water by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 88,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,701,000 after buying an additional 2,293 shares in the last quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Middlesex Water by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,846,000 after buying an additional 14,725 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Middlesex Water during the 1st quarter valued at about $866,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Middlesex Water during the 1st quarter valued at about $238,000. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middlesex Water Company Profile

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.