Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Holdings Decreased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its stake in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX – Get Rating) by 39.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,946 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.09% of Middlesex Water worth $1,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the third quarter valued at about $1,060,000. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Middlesex Water in the third quarter worth about $52,000. Raymond James & Associates bought a new stake in Middlesex Water in the third quarter worth about $222,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Middlesex Water in the third quarter worth about $648,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Middlesex Water by 7.0% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. 67.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

Shares of Middlesex Water stock opened at $81.81 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $87.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.23 and a beta of 0.71. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $74.20 and a 52 week high of $109.51.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $47.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 26.96% and a return on equity of 11.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 16th were issued a dividend of $0.313 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is 52.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 30th.

Insider Activity at Middlesex Water

In other Middlesex Water news, VP Bernadette M. Sohler sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.03, for a total value of $202,466.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,373 shares in the company, valued at $310,417.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Middlesex Water Profile

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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.