Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) issued its earnings results on Friday. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.13, Zacks reports. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSEX traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.13. The company had a trading volume of 183,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 107,686. Middlesex Water has a 12-month low of $45.42 and a 12-month high of $70.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.30. The company has a market cap of $895.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSEX. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Middlesex Water from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company.

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.