Ballentine Partners LLC Invests $327,000 in Middlesex Water Company $MSEX

Key Points

• Ballentine Partners LLC has invested approximately $327,000 in Middlesex Water Company by purchasing 6,032 shares in the second quarter.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of $0.60, which was lower than the consensus estimate of $0.68.
• Middlesex Water also recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, reflecting a 2.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 56.20%.

Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 0.7% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,481,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $94,952,000 after buying an additional 9,894 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Middlesex Water by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,412,377 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $90,533,000 after acquiring an additional 20,876 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 303,463 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,452,000 after acquiring an additional 48,072 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Middlesex Water by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 190,574 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,216,000 after acquiring an additional 36,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC raised its holdings in Middlesex Water by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 148,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,548,000 after acquiring an additional 46,562 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Middlesex Water stock opened at $53.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $53.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.85. The stock has a market cap of $964.07 million, a P/E ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.83. Middlesex Water Company has a 1-year low of $48.18 and a 1-year high of $70.73.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $49.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.60 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 9.67%. Analysts predict that Middlesex Water Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Middlesex Water's payout ratio is presently 56.20%.

Middlesex Water 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.

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