Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Stock Price Up 4.2%

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)’s stock price rose 4.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $64.74 and last traded at $64.45. Approximately 40,067 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 148,136 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSEX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Middlesex Water from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Middlesex Water to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 4.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.61 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.84.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.14. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 21.55% and a return on equity of 8.64%. The company had revenue of $40.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.00 million. Equities analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Walter G. Reinhard sold 857 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total transaction of $48,986.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $408,751.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSEX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Middlesex Water by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,427,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,650,000 after buying an additional 20,712 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Middlesex Water by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 467,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,648,000 after buying an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Middlesex Water by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 255,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,734,000 after buying an additional 35,332 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 26.5% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 150,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,918,000 after purchasing an additional 31,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 146,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,583,000 after purchasing an additional 7,893 shares during 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.