Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Director Sells $48,986.12 in Stock

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) Director Walter G. Reinhard sold 857 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $48,986.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $408,751.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ MSEX traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $55.05. 95,371 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 157,527. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.57. Middlesex Water has a 1-year low of $45.42 and a 1-year high of $84.38. The firm has a market cap of $981.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.14. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 21.55%. The company had revenue of $40.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.00 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Middlesex Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSEX. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Middlesex Water by 290.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Middlesex Water by 958.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 138.3% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,903 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter valued at $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSEX. StockNews.com upgraded Middlesex Water to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Middlesex Water from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th.

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.