Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Up 6.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)’s share price rose 6.7% during trading on Friday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $58.00 to $61.00. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Middlesex Water traded as high as $66.09 and last traded at $65.30. Approximately 21,868 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 134,224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.19.

Separately, Baird R W downgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Middlesex Water by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,427,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,650,000 after purchasing an additional 20,712 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Middlesex Water during the first quarter valued at $266,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Middlesex Water by 36.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $981,000 after acquiring an additional 5,020 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 73.6% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,671 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in Middlesex Water by 1.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 15,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 6.7 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38 and a beta of 0.79.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.05). Middlesex Water had a net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The business had revenue of $49.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.00 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.13%.

About Middlesex Water

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.