Robert W. Baird Boosts Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Price Target to $58.00

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $56.00 to $58.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective points to a potential upside of 6.54% from the stock’s current price.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

NASDAQ MSEX opened at $54.44 on Thursday. Middlesex Water has a twelve month low of $45.42 and a twelve month high of $84.38. The stock has a market cap of $969.79 million, a PE ratio of 30.93 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $40.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.00 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 18.96%. On average, research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In other Middlesex Water news, Director James F. Jr. Cosgrove bought 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $51.70 per share, with a total value of $82,720.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,981.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 10,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in Middlesex Water by 1.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 15,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 2.9% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.0% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 38,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,575,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.