KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $379,000 Investment in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Middlesex Water during the fourth quarter worth $522,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 52,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSEX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Baird R W raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upgraded Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 4.2 %

Middlesex Water stock opened at $63.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.79. Middlesex Water has a 52-week low of $45.42 and a 52-week high of $70.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.14.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $45.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is presently 55.06%.

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.