New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $581,000 Position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water during the second quarter valued at $2,016,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,889,000 after purchasing an additional 35,282 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,796,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 150,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,918,000 after buying an additional 31,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 219,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,451,000 after buying an additional 24,400 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

MSEX opened at $69.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.53 and a 200-day moving average of $59.61. Middlesex Water has a 52-week low of $45.42 and a 52-week high of $73.47.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $55.10 million during 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSEX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 target on shares of Middlesex Water from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

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.