Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $45.70

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $45.70 and last traded at $45.91, with a volume of 52560 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Middlesex Water from $69.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $817.30 million, a P/E ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.61.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.14). Middlesex Water had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 7.61%. The firm had revenue of $38.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.00 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James F. Jr. Cosgrove bought 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $51.70 per share, with a total value of $82,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,342 shares in the company, valued at $482,981.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSEX. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 290.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Middlesex Water

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.