Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Wednesday.
MSEX has been the subject of several other reports. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Baird R W raised Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Middlesex Water presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.00.
Get Our Latest Research Report on MSEX
Middlesex Water Stock Performance
Shares of MSEX traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 100,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,993. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88. Middlesex Water has a one year low of $48.18 and a one year high of $70.73. The stock's 50-day moving average is $61.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.38. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $44.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.79 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Middlesex Water
In other news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.32% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the first quarter valued at $7,196,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 23.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 190,574 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,216,000 after buying an additional 36,540 shares in the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the first quarter valued at $3,213,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Middlesex Water by 8.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water in the first quarter worth about $3,357,000. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Middlesex Water Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Middlesex Water, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Middlesex Water wasn't on the list.
While Middlesex Water currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering what the next stocks will be that hit it big, with solid fundamentals? Enter your email address to see which stocks MarketBeat analysts could become the next blockbuster growth stocks.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
