Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Upgraded at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Middlesex Water in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

Shares of Middlesex Water stock opened at $58.97 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.21 and a 200 day moving average of $59.17. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $45.42 and a 52 week high of $70.73.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.00 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is 55.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSEX. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 56,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,993,000 after buying an additional 7,562 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 119.0% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 25,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,335,000 after buying an additional 13,786 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the fourth quarter worth about $829,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 133,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,033,000 after buying an additional 15,878 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the fourth quarter worth about $2,224,000. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.