JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $4.87 Million Stake in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) by 187.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,560 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 60,337 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.52% of Middlesex Water worth $4,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake 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. acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water during the fourth quarter worth about $379,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 1.4 %

MSEX traded down $0.87 on Thursday, reaching $61.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,908. The business's 50 day moving average is $59.74 and its 200 day moving average is $58.86. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Middlesex Water has a 1 year low of $47.58 and a 1 year high of $70.73.

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

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water's payout ratio is 55.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middlesex Water

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSEX. Robert W. Baird upgraded Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Middlesex Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.50.

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.