Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Short Interest Down 15.0% in February

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 408,700 shares, a decrease of 15.0% from the February 13th total of 480,900 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 140,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSEX. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 771.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Middlesex Water by 1,006.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the third quarter worth $230,000. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of MSEX opened at $59.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Middlesex Water has a 1-year low of $45.42 and a 1-year high of $70.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.19.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is 55.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSEX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Baird R W raised Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America started 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

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.