Janney Montgomery Scott Upgrades Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) to Buy

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) was upgraded by research analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $66.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock. Janney Montgomery Scott’s price objective points to a potential upside of 17.33% from the stock’s previous close.

MSEX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. 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 note on Monday, March 3rd. Baird R W upgraded Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Middlesex Water presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.00.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of Middlesex Water stock opened at $56.25 on Monday. Middlesex Water has a 12-month low of $48.18 and a 12-month high of $70.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.79 and its 200-day moving average is $58.49.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The company had revenue of $44.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.79 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Middlesex Water

In related news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water during the first quarter worth about $359,000. Northstar Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,240,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 18.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 5,447 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 260.8% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 28,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,848,000 after purchasing an additional 20,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 12.1% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,091 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is 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.