Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Acquired by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) by 29.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 25,811 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,948 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. owned about 0.14% of Middlesex Water worth $1,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 771.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Middlesex Water by 1,006.4% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,009 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of MSEX traded up $1.97 on Tuesday, hitting $56.15. 157,471 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 131,293. Middlesex Water Company has a 1 year low of $48.18 and a 1 year high of $70.73. The stock's 50 day moving average is $57.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.78. 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 (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.79 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Middlesex Water Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.