Middlesex Water (MSEX) Competitors

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) and American States Water (NYSE:AWR) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, community ranking, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, media sentiment, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

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

79.5% of Middlesex Water shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.2% of American States Water shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Middlesex Water shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of American States Water shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is MSEX or AWR a better dividend stock?

Middlesex Water pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. American States Water pays an annual dividend of $1.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Middlesex Water pays out 56.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. American States Water pays out 57.2% 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 raised its dividend for 52 consecutive years and American States Water has raised its dividend for 71 consecutive years. American States Water is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media favor MSEX or AWR?

In the previous week, American States Water had 5 more articles in the media than Middlesex Water. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for American States Water and 5 mentions for Middlesex Water. American States Water's average media sentiment score of 1.47 beat Middlesex Water's score of 1.17 indicating that American States Water is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Middlesex Water	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
American States Water	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, MSEX or AWR?

American States Water has higher revenue and earnings than Middlesex Water. Middlesex Water is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American States 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	$195.65M	5.31	$31.52M	$2.41	24.07
American States Water	$608.22M	4.96	$119.27M	$3.25	24.13

Do analysts recommend MSEX or AWR?

Middlesex Water currently has a consensus price target of $61.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.14%. American States Water has a consensus price target of $77.50, indicating a potential downside of 1.17%. Given Middlesex Water's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Middlesex Water is more favorable than American States 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
American States Water	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.50

Is MSEX or AWR more profitable?

Middlesex Water has a net margin of 22.53% compared to American States Water's net margin of 20.03%. American States Water's return on equity of 13.63% beat Middlesex Water's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Middlesex Water	22.53%	9.58%	3.31%
American States Water	20.03%	13.63%	4.89%

Which has more volatility & risk, MSEX or AWR?

Middlesex Water has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American States Water has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer MSEX or AWR?

Middlesex Water received 8 more outperform votes than American States Water when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 59.64% of users gave Middlesex Water an outperform vote while only 50.22% of users gave American States Water an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Middlesex Water	Outperform Votes 235 59.64%	Underperform Votes 159 40.36%
American States Water	Outperform Votes 227 50.22%	Underperform Votes 225 49.78%

Summary

Middlesex Water beats American States Water on 13 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.