Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $5.49 Million Holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,918 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Middlesex Water worth $5,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in Middlesex Water by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 9,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 65.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 2.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 24,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Middlesex Water from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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 Stock Performance

Shares of Middlesex Water stock opened at $65.69 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.43. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56 and a beta of 0.79. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $45.42 and a 52 week high of $73.47.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The business had revenue of $55.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.13%.

Middlesex Water Company 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.