Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Trading 6.7% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) shares shot up 6.7% during mid-day trading on Friday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $58.00 to $61.00. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Middlesex Water traded as high as $66.09 and last traded at $65.30. 21,868 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 134,224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.19.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,427,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,650,000 after buying an additional 20,712 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 219,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,451,000 after purchasing an additional 24,400 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 150,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,918,000 after purchasing an additional 31,607 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,889,000 after purchasing an additional 35,282 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 62,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,243,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.01 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.60.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $49.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 8.69%. Equities analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. This is a positive change from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is 63.11%.

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.