Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Trading Up 2.2% – Here’s Why

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) shares shot up 2.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $63.32 and last traded at $63.32. 20,800 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 159,497 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MSEX shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Middlesex Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W raised Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 2.5 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.85 and a 200 day moving average of $59.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The business had revenue of $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.06%.

Insider Activity at Middlesex Water

In other news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 349.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 23,262 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 7.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,070,000 after buying an additional 53,098 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Middlesex Water by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 434,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,356,000 after buying an additional 3,430 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Middlesex Water during the fourth quarter worth about $1,595,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,560,000 after acquiring an additional 2,544 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.