Head to Head Review: Middlesex Water (MSEX) vs. Its Competitors

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) is one of 38 publicly-traded companies in the “Water Utilities” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Middlesex Water to similar companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Dividends

Middlesex Water pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Middlesex Water pays out 52.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Water Utilities” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.9% and pay out 83.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Middlesex Water has raised its dividend for 52 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Middlesex Water and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Middlesex Water	24.50%	10.08%	3.69%
Middlesex Water Competitors	0.18%	-0.92%	1.77%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.5% of Middlesex Water shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.7% of shares of all “Water Utilities” companies are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Middlesex Water shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.7% of shares of all “Water Utilities” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Middlesex Water has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Middlesex Water’s competitors have a beta of 0.77, suggesting that their average stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Middlesex Water and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Middlesex Water	0	3	0	1	2.50
Middlesex Water Competitors	408	1236	1028	32	2.25

Middlesex Water currently has a consensus price target of $60.75, indicating a potential upside of 1.47%. As a group, “Water Utilities” companies have a potential upside of 92.60%. Given Middlesex Water’s competitors higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Middlesex Water has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Middlesex Water and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Middlesex Water	$194.69 million	$42.82 million	21.61
Middlesex Water Competitors	$5.90 billion	$270.20 million	14.60

Middlesex Water’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Middlesex Water. Middlesex Water is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Middlesex Water beats its competitors on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

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. 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.