Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Price Target Raised to $58.00

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) had its price objective upped by Freedom Broker from $56.00 to $58.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. New Street Research set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.75.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 2.7%

NASDAQ MSEX opened at $59.19 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.26. Middlesex Water has a twelve month low of $48.19 and a twelve month high of $59.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 0.71.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $60.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.90 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 10.08% and a net margin of 24.50%.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This is an increase from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middlesex Water

In other news, VP Lorrie Ginegaw sold 615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.61, for a total transaction of $35,430.15. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,172.58. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSEX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Middlesex Water during the second quarter valued at $176,031,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the 2nd quarter worth about $24,570,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Middlesex Water during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,054,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Middlesex Water during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,264,000. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new position in Middlesex Water during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,820,000. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Middlesex Water

Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) is a regulated water and wastewater utility that owns and operates systems serving residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. Its services include the production, treatment, distribution and sale of potable water, as well as wastewater collection and treatment.

Founded in 1897, the company primarily serves communities in New Jersey and Delaware through its regulated utility operations. Its New Jersey service area includes portions of Middlesex, Union, Somerset and Mercer counties, while its Delaware operations serve customers through the Tidewater Utilities subsidiary.

Middlesex Water also provides contract operations, maintenance and related services for municipal and other public water and wastewater systems.