Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Raised to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Baird R W from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MSEX. Robert W. Baird raised Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 2.6 %

Middlesex Water stock opened at $59.52 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.21 and a 200 day moving average of $59.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. Middlesex Water has a one year low of $45.42 and a one year high of $70.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The company had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 19,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. lifted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 6,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 771.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 20,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

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.