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

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

Middlesex Water Price Performance

MSEX stock opened at $54.44 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $969.79 million, a PE ratio of 30.93 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $45.42 and a 52 week high of $84.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.08.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $40.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 7.61%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 22.4% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 56,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,961,000 after buying an additional 10,315 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 6,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Middlesex Water by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 150,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,918,000 after acquiring an additional 31,607 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 88.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 4,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.