Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Acquired by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) by 133.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,013 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Middlesex Water worth $830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 5,140 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $723,000. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $342,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 120.2% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 7,332 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 4,002 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 57,260 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,014,000 after purchasing an additional 16,665 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSEX traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $56.74. 112,523 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 132,084. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $60.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.94. Middlesex Water has a 1 year low of $48.18 and a 1 year high of $70.73. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $44.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.79 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. Sell-side analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Middlesex Water's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MSEX shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Middlesex Water has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 52,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,129,325.60. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.86% of the company's stock.

About Middlesex Water

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.