Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Short Interest Up 18.5% in June

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) saw a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 470,900 shares, a growth of 18.5% from the May 31st total of 397,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 111,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MSEX stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.38. 70,446 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 151,990. Middlesex Water has a fifty-two week low of $45.42 and a fifty-two week high of $84.35. The stock has a market cap of $951.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.85.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.14. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 21.55%. The company had revenue of $40.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.00 million. Equities analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is 64.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Walter G. Reinhard sold 857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total transaction of $48,986.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $408,751.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 10,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 1.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 15,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 2.9% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSEX. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Middlesex Water from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Middlesex Water to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th.

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.