Middlesex Water (MSEX) Competitors

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) and Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, risk and media sentiment.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in ARTNA or MSEX?

57.4% of Artesian Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.5% of Middlesex Water shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.6% of Artesian Resources shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Middlesex Water shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, ARTNA or MSEX?

Middlesex Water has higher revenue and earnings than Artesian Resources. Artesian Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Middlesex 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
Artesian Resources	$107.95M	3.16	$20.39M	$2.17	15.24
Middlesex Water	$191.88M	5.40	$44.35M	$2.42	23.76

Does the media prefer ARTNA or MSEX?

In the previous week, Artesian Resources and Artesian Resources both had 3 articles in the media. Artesian Resources' average media sentiment score of 0.87 beat Middlesex Water's score of 0.83 indicating that Artesian Resources is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Artesian Resources	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Middlesex Water	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ARTNA or MSEX a better dividend stock?

Artesian Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Middlesex Water pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Artesian Resources pays out 56.7% 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. Artesian Resources has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years and Middlesex Water has increased its dividend for 52 consecutive years.

Which has more risk and volatility, ARTNA or MSEX?

Artesian Resources has a beta of 0.34, suggesting that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Middlesex Water has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend ARTNA or MSEX?

Middlesex Water has a consensus price target of $61.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.09%. Given Middlesex Water's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Middlesex Water is more favorable than Artesian Resources.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Artesian Resources	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Middlesex Water	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Is ARTNA or MSEX more profitable?

Middlesex Water has a net margin of 22.15% compared to Artesian Resources' net margin of 20.84%. Middlesex Water's return on equity of 9.67% beat Artesian Resources' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Artesian Resources	20.84%	9.55%	2.86%
Middlesex Water	22.15%	9.67%	3.42%

Summary

Middlesex Water beats Artesian Resources on 16 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.