19,471 Shares in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Bought by WINTON GROUP Ltd

WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 19,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,025,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 7.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,070,000 after purchasing an additional 53,098 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,595,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,246,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 349.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 23,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 62.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 29,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 11,402 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of MSEX opened at $63.48 on Friday. Middlesex Water has a 1 year low of $45.42 and a 1 year high of $70.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $54.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.09. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.00 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 business posted $0.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is currently 55.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total transaction of $244,223.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,325.60. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MSEX. Baird R W raised Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Finally, 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 note on Monday, March 3rd.

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.