Here's Why Middlesex Water Company's (NASDAQ:MSEX) CEO May Deserve A Raise

The solid performance at Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) has been impressive and shareholders will probably be pleased to know that CEO Dennis Doll has delivered. At the upcoming AGM on 25 May 2021, they would be interested to hear about the company strategy going forward and get a chance to cast their votes on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other company matters. We think the CEO has done a pretty decent job and probably deserves a well-earned pay rise.

Check out our latest analysis for Middlesex Water

How Does Total Compensation For Dennis Doll Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

Our data indicates that Middlesex Water Company has a market capitalization of US$1.4b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$1.8m for the year to December 2020. That is, the compensation was roughly the same as last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$632k.

On examining similar-sized companies in the industry with market capitalizations between US$1.0b and US$3.2b, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$3.2m. This suggests that Dennis Doll is paid below the industry median. Furthermore, Dennis Doll directly owns US$17m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

Component	2020	2019	Proportion (2020)
Salary	US$632k	US$615k	35%
Other	US$1.1m	US$1.2m	65%
Total Compensation	US$1.8m	US$1.8m	100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 28% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 72% of the pie. According to our research, Middlesex Water has allocated a higher percentage of pay to salary in comparison to the wider industry. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance.

A Look at Middlesex Water Company's Growth Numbers

Middlesex Water Company's earnings per share (EPS) grew 16% per year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 4.9%.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's good to see a bit of revenue growth, as this suggests the business is able to grow sustainably. Moving away from current form for a second, it could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Middlesex Water Company Been A Good Investment?

We think that the total shareholder return of 103%, over three years, would leave most Middlesex Water Company shareholders smiling. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.

In Summary...

The company's solid performance might have made most shareholders happy, possibly making CEO remuneration the least of the matters to be discussed in the AGM. Instead, investors might be more interested in discussions that would help manage their longer-term growth expectations such as company business strategies and future growth potential.

CEO pay is simply one of the many factors that need to be considered while examining business performance. We did our research and identified 2 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) in Middlesex Water we think you should know about.

Important note: Middlesex Water is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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