Renaissance Technologies LLC Reduces Position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 262,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 22,000 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 1.47% of Middlesex Water worth $13,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSEX. Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 56,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,961,000 after buying an additional 10,315 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 1st quarter valued at $1,113,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 255,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,734,000 after purchasing an additional 35,332 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Middlesex Water during the 1st quarter worth about $401,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,427,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,650,000 after buying an additional 20,712 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Middlesex Water from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSEX opened at $65.10 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.97. Middlesex Water has a twelve month low of $45.42 and a twelve month high of $73.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.05). Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 21.14%. The company had revenue of $49.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.00 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.36%.

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.