Walleye Capital LLC Purchases New Holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $675,000. Walleye Capital LLC owned 0.07% of Middlesex Water at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Middlesex Water by 349.4% during the third 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,430 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter valued at $1,595,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,560,000 after purchasing an additional 2,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter valued at $379,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In related 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 value of $244,223.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Middlesex Water Stock Up 0.0 %

MSEX traded up $0.01 during trading on Monday, hitting $61.45. The company had a trading volume of 117,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,622. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.80. Middlesex Water has a one year low of $48.18 and a one year high of $70.73. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $60.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Middlesex Water's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.06%.

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.