T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Acquires 9,894 Shares of Middlesex Water Company $MSEX

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Middlesex Water Company by 0.7%, owning approximately 8.27% of the company worth around $94.95 million.
• Middlesex Water reported disappointing quarterly earnings with an EPS of $0.60, missing estimates of $0.68, and revenue of $49.32 million compared to expectations of $52.60 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.6% and a payout ratio of 56.20%.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,481,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,894 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 8.27% of Middlesex Water worth $94,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 6,702.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 139,033 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,912,000 after purchasing an additional 136,989 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Middlesex Water by 751.4% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 91,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,817,000 after buying an additional 80,779 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water during the first quarter worth about $3,306,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water during the fourth quarter worth about $2,619,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Middlesex Water by 18.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 303,463 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $19,452,000 after buying an additional 48,072 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Middlesex Water has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.00.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ MSEX traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $53.66. 11,147 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,731. Middlesex Water Company has a 1-year low of $48.18 and a 1-year high of $70.73. The stock has a market cap of $966.95 million, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $52.60 million. On average, analysts expect that Middlesex Water Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Middlesex Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.