Comerica Bank Sells 340 Shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Comerica Bank decreased its stake in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 340 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSEX. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 349.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,952,000 after buying an additional 23,262 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,560,000 after purchasing an additional 2,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 214,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,983 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of Middlesex Water stock opened at $57.10 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.46 and a 200-day moving average of $58.42. Middlesex Water has a 1-year low of $48.18 and a 1-year high of $70.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The firm had revenue of $44.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.79 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.43%.

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In related news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 52,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,129,325.60. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.