Reasons to Add Middlesex Water Stock to Your Portfolio Now

Middlesex Water Company’s MSEX steady capital investment, customer additions, and contribution from acquired and organic assets are boosting its performance.Let us focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock a strong investment pick at the moment.MSEX’s Growth Projections & Surprise HistoryThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 and 2026 earnings per share has moved up by 3.3% and 3.1%, respectively, in the past 60 days.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 and 2026 revenues has moved up by 3.71% and 6.53%, respectively.Middlesex Water’s earnings beat the consensus mark in three out of the last four quarters and missed on one occasion, with the average surprise being 19.7%.MSEX’s Long Dividend History & Dividend YieldCourtesy of its steady performance, management has been able to increase dividends for 52 consecutive years. The company has continued to pay dividends to its shareholders since 1912. MSEX’s current annual dividend rate is $1.36 per share and its dividend yield is currently pegged at 2.13%, which is better than the S&P 500’s yield of 1.73%.Another water utility, California Water Service CWT, is also a consistent performer and has a long history of dividend payments. CWT’s current quarterly dividend of 30 cents per share marks a 7.1% increase from the prior quarter. This marks its 320th consecutive quarter and 58th consecutive increase, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.20 per share. CWT’s current dividend yield is 2.48%.Debt to Capital of MSEXMiddlesex Water’s total debt to capital is currently pegged at 46.19% compared with its industry average of 56.29%. This shows that the company is managing its business with lower debts compared with industry peers.Times interest earned ratio of the company at the end of fourth-quarter 2024 was 4.7, which indicates that it has enough financial flexibility to meet interest obligations.MSEX’s Regular InvestmentsMiddlesex Water makes consistent investments to upgrade and maintain the existing infrastructure for providing 24/7 reliable services to the expanding customer base. The company has plans to invest $387 million during the 2025-2027 time period to strengthen its water and wastewater infrastructure as well as provide services to customers in a safe, reliable and efficient manner.Water utility American Water Works AWK is also very active in upgrading its water and wastewater infrastructure as well as making regular investments. American Water has plans to invest $3.3 billion in 2025. AWK aims to invest in the range of $17-$18 billion in the 2025-2029 period to further strengthen its operations.Another company, Essential Utilities WTRG, plans to invest $1.4-$1.5 billion in its infrastructure in 2025. WTRG also plans to invest $7.8 billion through 2025-2029 to improve the water and natural gas systems, and better serve customers using enhanced information technology.MSEX’s Price PerformanceOver the past year, the stock has gained 28.5% compared with the industry’s growth of 13.4%.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchYou can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is among the most innovative financial firms. With a fast-growing customer base (already 50+ million) and a diverse set of cutting edge solutions, this stock is poised for big gains. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK): Free Stock Analysis Report California Water Service Group (CWT): Free Stock Analysis Report Middlesex Water Company (MSEX): Free Stock Analysis Report Essential Utilities Inc. (WTRG): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks