Insider Selling: Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Director Sells 4,067 Shares of Stock

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 52,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MSEX opened at $61.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Middlesex Water has a 12 month low of $45.42 and a 12 month high of $70.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.10.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.00 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlesex Water

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSEX. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,471,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,440,000 after acquiring an additional 126,732 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,070,000 after purchasing an additional 53,098 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 434,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,356,000 after purchasing an additional 3,430 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 223,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,755,000 after purchasing an additional 23,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 214,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,311,000 after buying an additional 6,983 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America began coverage on Middlesex Water in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird raised 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, Baird R W raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

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.