Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Down 2%

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)’s share price fell 2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $65.89 and last traded at $65.89. 8,556 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 142,463 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Middlesex Water Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.02 and a 200-day moving average of $55.91. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23 and a beta of 0.79.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released 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 net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The company had revenue of $49.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlesex Water

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 290.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the 1st quarter worth $52,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 65.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 958.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

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.