Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Acquires Shares of 12,960 Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 12,960 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $831,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Middlesex Water as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSEX. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,560,000 after acquiring an additional 2,544 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 6,983 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,513 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 19,863 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 1.0%

MSEX stock opened at $56.17 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.11 and a 200 day moving average of $56.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Middlesex Water Company has a twelve month low of $48.18 and a twelve month high of $70.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.81.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The business had revenue of $44.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.79 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Middlesex Water's dividend payout ratio is 56.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSEX. Robert W. Baird raised Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Baird R W raised Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.00.

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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