Barclays PLC Increases Position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Barclays PLC boosted its position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.18% of Middlesex Water worth $1,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 771.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 4th quarter worth about $642,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter valued at $522,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSEX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 3.9 %

NASDAQ:MSEX opened at $60.36 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Middlesex Water has a 12-month low of $48.18 and a 12-month high of $70.73.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $44.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.79 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. Equities research analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.06%.

Insider Activity at Middlesex Water

In related news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total transaction of $244,223.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,129,325.60. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

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.