Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Director Sells $19,323.00 in Stock

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Director Walter G. Reinhard sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $19,323.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409,067.91. The trade was a 4.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of MSEX opened at $62.94 on Wednesday. Middlesex Water has a one year low of $45.42 and a one year high of $70.73. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $52.13 and a 200-day moving average of $59.22.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is 55.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSEX. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 771.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,006.4% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSEX. Bank of America started coverage on Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Baird R W upgraded Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

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.