Middlesex Water (MSEX) Competitors

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

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, MSEX or YORW?

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
Middlesex Water	$195.83M	4.76	$44.35M	$2.42	21.37
York Water	$74.96M	5.87	$20.33M	$1.37	22.32

Is MSEX or YORW a better dividend stock?

Middlesex Water pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. York Water pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Middlesex Water pays out 56.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. York Water pays out 64.2% 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. Middlesex Water has increased its dividend for 52 consecutive years and York Water has increased its dividend for 27 consecutive years.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of MSEX or YORW?

79.5% of Middlesex Water shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.9% of York Water shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Middlesex Water shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of York Water shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is MSEX or YORW more profitable?

York Water has a net margin of 25.91% 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
Middlesex Water	22.15%	9.67%	3.42%
York Water	25.91%	8.56%	3.13%

Does the media refer more to MSEX or YORW?

In the previous week, Middlesex Water had 3 more articles in the media than York Water. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Middlesex Water and 4 mentions for York Water. York Water's average media sentiment score of 0.84 beat Middlesex Water's score of 0.12 indicating that York Water is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Middlesex Water	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
York Water	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend MSEX or YORW?

Middlesex Water presently has a consensus price target of $61.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.94%. Given Middlesex Water's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Middlesex Water is more favorable than York Water.

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

Which has more volatility & risk, MSEX or YORW?

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

Summary

Middlesex Water beats York Water on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.