First Manhattan CO. LLC. Lowers Position in Middlesex Water Company $MSEX

Key Points

• First Manhattan CO. LLC decreased its stake in Middlesex Water Company by 4.7%, owning 169,788 shares after selling 8,387 during the first quarter.
• Middlesex Water recently reported an EPS of $0.60, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68, with quarterly revenue of $49.32 million compared to expectations of $52.60 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, which will be paid on September 2nd, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.5%.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lessened its stake in Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,387 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned about 0.95% of Middlesex Water worth $10,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,481,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $94,952,000 after buying an additional 9,894 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,412,377 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $90,533,000 after buying an additional 20,876 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 303,463 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,452,000 after buying an additional 48,072 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 223,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,755,000 after buying an additional 23,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 148,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,548,000 after purchasing an additional 46,562 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Middlesex Water stock traded up $0.92 on Friday, hitting $54.17. 216,187 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 112,186. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.19. Middlesex Water Company has a one year low of $48.18 and a one year high of $70.73. 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 company has a market capitalization of $976.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.83.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.08). Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 22.15%.The firm had revenue of $49.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.60 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Middlesex Water Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded 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, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" 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.