Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Price Target Cut to $63.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) had its target price reduced by Robert W. Baird from $73.00 to $63.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.67.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 13.1%

Shares of MSEX stock opened at $49.92 on Monday. Middlesex Water has a 12-month low of $44.17 and a 12-month high of $70.73. The company has a market capitalization of $899.41 million, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $55.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.88.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.09). Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 22.15%.The company had revenue of $54.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.08 million. Research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSEX. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 483.5% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 35.8% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Middlesex Water during the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Middlesex Water during the second quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 31.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Company Profile

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.