SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 19,335 Shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 479.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,335 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.13% of Middlesex Water worth $1,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSEX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 1.5% during 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Middlesex Water by 12.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 219,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,451,000 after purchasing an additional 24,400 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Middlesex Water by 26.5% during 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. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 62,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 10,315 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSEX opened at $62.95 on Wednesday. Middlesex Water has a 52-week low of $45.42 and a 52-week high of $73.47. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 31.16 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $63.25 and a 200-day moving average of $57.03.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.05). Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 21.14%. The firm had revenue of $49.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.00 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSEX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Baird R W lowered Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Middlesex Water from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Middlesex Water 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.