Northern Trust Corp Buys 23,289 Shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 223,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 23,289 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.25% of Middlesex Water worth $11,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSEX. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the fourth quarter valued at $428,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,471,404 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $77,440,000 after acquiring an additional 126,732 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,713 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Middlesex Water during the fourth quarter worth about $2,619,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 320.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 5,150 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSEX. StockNews.com raised Middlesex Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Insider Activity at Middlesex Water

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,325.60. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.32% of the company's stock.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 1.7%

Middlesex Water stock traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.60. The stock had a trading volume of 55,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 148,999. Middlesex Water has a twelve month low of $48.18 and a twelve month high of $70.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $61.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.29.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $44.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.79 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. Equities analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Middlesex Water's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.43%.

Middlesex Water 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.