Middlesex Water (MSEX) Competitors

York Water (NASDAQ:YORW) and Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, media sentiment, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability and valuation.

Do analysts rate YORW or MSEX?

Middlesex Water has a consensus target price of $61.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.00%. Given Middlesex Water's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Middlesex Water is more favorable than York Water.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
York Water	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Middlesex Water	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Is YORW or MSEX more profitable?

York Water has a net margin of 25.83% compared to Middlesex Water's net margin of 22.15%. Middlesex Water's return on equity of 9.67% beat York Water's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
York Water	25.83%	8.50%	3.09%
Middlesex Water	22.15%	9.67%	3.42%

Which has better earnings & valuation, YORW or MSEX?

Middlesex Water has higher revenue and earnings than York Water. Middlesex Water is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than York Water, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
York Water	$74.96M	6.02	$20.33M	$1.37	22.82
Middlesex Water	$191.88M	5.07	$44.35M	$2.42	22.31

Is YORW or MSEX a better dividend stock?

York Water pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Middlesex Water pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. York Water pays out 64.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Middlesex Water pays out 56.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. York Water has raised its dividend for 27 consecutive years and Middlesex Water has raised its dividend for 52 consecutive years.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in YORW or MSEX?

49.9% of York Water shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.5% of Middlesex Water shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of York Water shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Middlesex Water shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more volatility & risk, YORW or MSEX?

York Water has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Middlesex Water has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to YORW or MSEX?

In the previous week, Middlesex Water had 4 more articles in the media than York Water. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Middlesex Water and 4 mentions for York Water. Middlesex Water's average media sentiment score of 1.69 beat York Water's score of 0.73 indicating that Middlesex Water is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
York Water	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Middlesex Water	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Summary

Middlesex Water beats York Water on 16 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.