ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,629 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,878 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.75% of Middlesex Water worth $7,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 349.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 23,262 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Middlesex Water during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,595,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,560,000 after acquiring an additional 2,544 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Middlesex Water during the 4th quarter valued at about $379,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Middlesex Water during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,025,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.
Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water
In related 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 sale, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.32% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have weighed in on MSEX shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.00.
View Our Latest Research Report on MSEX
Middlesex Water Trading Up 0.1%
Shares of NASDAQ MSEX traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.20. 132,344 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,937. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88. Middlesex Water has a 52-week low of $48.18 and a 52-week high of $70.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $61.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.10.
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%. Equities research analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Middlesex Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.43%.
About Middlesex Water
(
Free Report)
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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