Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Earns Underperform Rating from Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America started coverage on shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 5.96% from the company’s current price.

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Middlesex Water from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:MSEX opened at $59.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89 and a beta of 0.82. Middlesex Water has a twelve month low of $45.42 and a twelve month high of $73.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $55.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.00 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 65.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 66.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $230,000. 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.