Contrasting Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) & Manila Water (OTCMKTS:MWTCY)

Manila Water (OTCMKTS:MWTCY) and Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Manila Water pays an annual dividend of C$6.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 39.5%. Middlesex Water pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Manila Water pays out 10.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Middlesex Water pays out 55.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Middlesex Water has raised its dividend for 52 consecutive years. Manila Water is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Manila Water and Middlesex Water, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Manila Water	0	0	0	0	0.00
Middlesex Water	0	1	1	0	2.50

Middlesex Water has a consensus target price of $61.67, suggesting a potential upside of 4.86%. Given Middlesex Water’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Middlesex Water is more favorable than Manila Water.

Profitability

This table compares Manila Water and Middlesex Water’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Manila Water	N/A	N/A	N/A
Middlesex Water	23.26%	9.59%	3.48%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Manila Water and Middlesex Water”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Manila Water	N/A	N/A	N/A	C$58.75	0.28
Middlesex Water	$194.69 million	5.69	$42.82 million	$2.59	22.71

Middlesex Water has higher revenue and earnings than Manila Water. Manila Water is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Middlesex Water, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Manila Water shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.5% of Middlesex Water shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Middlesex Water shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Middlesex Water beats Manila Water on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Manila Water

Manila Water Company, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides water treatment and distribution, sewerage, and sanitation services in the Philippines and internationally. The company offers integrated used water, pipework, engineering, procurement, and management services. It also provides its services to people in the East Zone encompassing cities and municipalities, including Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig, Marikina, Quezon City, and Manila, as well as Rizal towns comprising Angono, Antipolo, Baras, Binangonan, Cainta, Cardona, Jala-Jala, Morong, Pililia, Rodriguez, San Mateo, Tanay, Taytay, and Teresa. The company serves residential, commercial, semi-business, and industrial customers. Manila Water Company, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Quezon City, the Philippines.

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. The Non-Regulated segment provides non-regulated contract services for the operation and maintenance of municipal and private water and wastewater systems in New Jersey and Delaware. Middlesex Water Company was incorporated in 1896 and is headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey.