10,751 Shares in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Bought by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $577,000. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.06% of Middlesex Water at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSEX. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 6.0% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 39,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Middlesex Water in the 2nd quarter valued at about $295,000. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $289,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 8.5% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MSEX shares. Baird R W lowered Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered Middlesex Water from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 1.0 %

Middlesex Water stock opened at $62.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.03. 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 has a twelve month low of $45.42 and a twelve month high of $73.47. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16 and a beta of 0.79.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced 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 net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The firm had revenue of $49.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.00 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.