Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $54.12 and traded as high as $54.25. Middlesex Water shares last traded at $53.41, with a volume of 101,610 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. New Street Research set a $52.00 target price on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Middlesex Water from $73.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Middlesex Water currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $60.33.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.12. The stock has a market cap of $979.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $54.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.08 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 22.08%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This is an increase from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,481,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,952,000 after purchasing an additional 9,894 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,412,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $90,533,000 after buying an additional 20,876 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 379,762 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,553,000 after buying an additional 94,082 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 327,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,735,000 after buying an additional 23,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 193,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,487,000 after buying an additional 3,751 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

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.