Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stock Position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) by 74.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,066 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 55,880 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.11% of Middlesex Water worth $1,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 0.8% in 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 period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 349.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,952,000 after purchasing an additional 23,262 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 7.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,070,000 after buying an additional 53,098 shares during the period. Thematics Asset Management raised its holdings in Middlesex Water by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 181,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,808,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Middlesex Water by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSEX traded down $0.48 on Friday, hitting $48.68. The company had a trading volume of 76,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,528. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $56.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $869.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.85. 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 has a 1 year low of $45.42 and a 1 year high of $70.73.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The business had revenue of $55.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $50.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSEX. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Middlesex Water from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America started coverage on Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock.

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.