Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned 0.05% of Middlesex Water worth $470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Middlesex Water by 290.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Middlesex Water during the first quarter valued at $52,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 65.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 958.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the fourth quarter worth $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:MSEX opened at $63.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.75. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $45.42 and a 52 week high of $76.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.05). Middlesex Water had a net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The company had revenue of $49.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.00 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is 64.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MSEX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlesex Water to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Baird R W lowered shares of Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Middlesex Water from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

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.