Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $58.00 to $61.00. The stock had previously closed at $61.19, but opened at $65.27. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Middlesex Water shares last traded at $65.27, with a volume of 1,023 shares.

Separately, Baird R W downgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 107.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 65.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the third quarter worth $210,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average is $64.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.05.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The business had revenue of $55.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.13%.

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.