7,200 Shares in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 4.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 167,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,913,000 after purchasing an additional 6,844 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,070,000 after buying an additional 53,098 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 349.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,952,000 after buying an additional 23,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Middlesex Water by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 434,559 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,356,000 after buying an additional 3,430 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSEX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America started coverage on Middlesex Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Middlesex Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSEX traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $60.46. 182,784 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,420. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $45.42 and a 52 week high of $70.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.94.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,129,325.60. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.