Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on MSEX. Baird R W raised Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, 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, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSEX traded up $0.67 during trading on Thursday, reaching $57.87. The company had a trading volume of 181,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,134. Middlesex Water has a 12-month low of $48.18 and a 12-month high of $70.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88. The business's 50-day moving average is $60.95 and its 200 day moving average is $57.94. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The company had revenue of $44.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.79 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Middlesex Water's payout ratio is currently 56.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 52,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 0.7% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,481,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $94,952,000 after acquiring an additional 9,894 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,412,377 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $90,533,000 after acquiring an additional 20,876 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 18.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 303,463 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,452,000 after acquiring an additional 48,072 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 223,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,755,000 after acquiring an additional 23,289 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 214,913 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,311,000 after acquiring an additional 6,983 shares during the period. 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.