Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned about 0.06% of Middlesex Water worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSEX. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Middlesex Water in the 1st quarter worth approximately $266,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $981,000 after purchasing an additional 5,020 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 73.6% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,671 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 15,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 1st quarter worth approximately $400,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

Middlesex Water stock opened at $68.61 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $64.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.18. Middlesex Water has a 1 year low of $45.42 and a 1 year high of $73.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.83 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $55.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.00 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is currently 56.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MSEX shares. Baird R W cut shares of Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Middlesex Water from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

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.