Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MSEX. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on Middlesex Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 3.4 %

MSEX opened at $60.79 on Tuesday. Middlesex Water has a 12 month low of $45.42 and a 12 month high of $70.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 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 $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSEX. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Middlesex Water by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 19,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 6,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 771.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Middlesex Water by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 20,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.