StockNews.com Downgrades Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) to Sell

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

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

Middlesex Water Price Performance

NASDAQ MSEX opened at $58.02 on Thursday. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $48.18 and a 52 week high of $70.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.29.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business had revenue of $44.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.79 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 52,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,129,325.60. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 0.7% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $90,533,000 after purchasing an additional 20,876 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 303,463 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $19,452,000 after purchasing an additional 48,072 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 223,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,755,000 after purchasing an additional 23,289 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 214,913 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,983 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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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