Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Sets New 1-Year Low at $47.60

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $47.60 and last traded at $47.90, with a volume of 8894 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Middlesex Water from $69.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $854.74 million, a PE ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.23.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $38.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 7.61%. Equities analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.86%.

Insider Activity at Middlesex Water

In other news, Director James F. Jr. Cosgrove purchased 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $51.70 per share, with a total value of $82,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,981.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Middlesex Water by 106.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 51,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,356,000 after buying an additional 26,415 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water in the third quarter worth $393,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water in the third quarter worth $212,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Middlesex Water by 138.3% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Middlesex Water by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 138,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,152,000 after buying an additional 1,439 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.