LPL Financial LLC Buys 4,415 Shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,415 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.15% of Middlesex Water worth $1,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSEX. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the fourth quarter worth approximately $379,000. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSEX opened at $62.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.76 and a 200 day moving average of $58.89. Middlesex Water has a 12-month low of $46.15 and a 12-month high of $70.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is presently 55.06%.

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.