Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Now Covered by Huntington Sec

Investment analysts at Huntington Sec initiated coverage on shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) in a research note issued on Sunday, Zacks reports. The firm set a “strong-buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MSEX. Robert W. Baird set a $66.00 price objective on Middlesex Water in a research note on Friday, July 31st. New Street Research set a $64.00 price objective on Middlesex Water in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Freedom Broker upped their target price on Middlesex Water from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Middlesex Water from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Middlesex Water currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.75.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of MSEX opened at $57.64 on Friday. Middlesex Water has a 12 month low of $48.19 and a 12 month high of $59.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $55.47 and its 200-day moving average is $54.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In other news, VP Lorrie Ginegaw sold 615 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.61, for a total value of $35,430.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,172.58. This represents a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 4.4% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 68.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.9% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Company Profile

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.