Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.33

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.325 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th.

Middlesex Water has raised its dividend by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 51 consecutive years. Middlesex Water has a dividend payout ratio of 56.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Middlesex Water to earn $2.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.2%.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

NASDAQ MSEX traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.18. 98,575 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 111,352. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $875.90 million, a PE ratio of 27.94 and a beta of 0.74. Middlesex Water has a fifty-two week low of $45.42 and a fifty-two week high of $84.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $50.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.75.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $38.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.00 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 18.96%. Research analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Middlesex Water from $69.00 to $59.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James F. Jr. Cosgrove acquired 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $51.70 per share, with a total value of $82,720.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $482,981.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.86% of the stock is currently owned by 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.