Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) gapped down prior to trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $62.79, but opened at $57.85. Middlesex Water shares last traded at $59.48, with a volume of 13,860 shares changing hands.

The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $44.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.79 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is currently 55.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Janney Montgomery Scott reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total transaction of $244,223.35. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSEX. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 349.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,952,000 after buying an additional 23,262 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Middlesex Water by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Middlesex Water by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,560,000 after purchasing an additional 2,544 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Middlesex Water by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 214,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,983 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $61.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65.

About Middlesex Water

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.