Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Has $42,000 Position in Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 128.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $42,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 771.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 1,006.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Middlesex Water in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Middlesex Water by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of MSEX opened at $54.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $971.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.60. Middlesex Water Company has a one year low of $48.18 and a one year high of $70.73.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The business had revenue of $44.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.79 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Middlesex Water Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.43%.

Middlesex Water 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.