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

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 23rd, NASDAQ reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.325 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th.

Middlesex Water has increased its dividend by an average of 6.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 51 consecutive years. Middlesex Water has a dividend payout ratio of 55.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSEX traded up $0.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $65.22. The stock had a trading volume of 195,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,144. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 32.29 and a beta of 0.80. Middlesex Water has a one year low of $45.42 and a one year high of $84.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $54.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.99.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSEX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Middlesex Water to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Middlesex Water from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th.

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In related news, Director Walter G. Reinhard sold 857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $48,986.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $408,751.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

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.