Amundi Acquires 8,848 Shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Amundi grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 8,848 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.72% of Middlesex Water worth $6,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSEX. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the third quarter worth approximately $230,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the third quarter worth $271,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Middlesex Water by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 1.2 %

MSEX stock traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.11. The stock had a trading volume of 99,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,063. The firm has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. Middlesex Water has a twelve month low of $45.42 and a twelve month high of $70.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.18.

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Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water's payout ratio is presently 55.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSEX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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 report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Middlesex Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America assumed coverage on Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

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.