Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Upgraded to "Buy" at Janney Montgomery Scott

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $66.00 price target on the utilities provider's stock. Janney Montgomery Scott's price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.19% from the stock's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Baird R W upgraded Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded 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, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.00.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSEX traded down $0.73 on Monday, hitting $59.36. 56,034 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 131,409. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $48.18 and a 52 week high of $70.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.54. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $44.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.79 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. As a group, research analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSEX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,412,377 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $90,533,000 after buying an additional 20,876 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 1st quarter worth approximately $866,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Middlesex Water in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $793,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Middlesex Water in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

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.

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