Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $848,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. 70.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Middlesex Water in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. TheStreet downgraded Middlesex Water from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, October 20th.
Middlesex Water Price Performance
Shares of MSEX stock opened at $63.21 on Thursday. Middlesex Water has a 52-week low of $61.67 and a 52-week high of $95.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.39 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $70.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.03.
Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55. The firm had revenue of $42.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.00 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 22.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.
Middlesex Water Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This is an increase from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.10%.
About Middlesex Water
Middlesex Water Company owns and operates regulated water utility and wastewater systems. It operates in two segments, Regulated and Non-Regulated. 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.
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