Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 408,700 shares, a decline of 15.0% from the February 13th total of 480,900 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 140,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 23,262 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Middlesex Water by 7.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,070,000 after acquiring an additional 53,098 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Middlesex Water by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 434,559 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,356,000 after buying an additional 3,430 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,560,000 after buying an additional 2,544 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

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Middlesex Water Price Performance

Shares of Middlesex Water stock traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.97. 820,993 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 118,890. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.14. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $45.42 and a 52 week high of $70.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. 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 (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $47.11 million for 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Middlesex Water's dividend payout ratio is 55.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSEX. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Middlesex Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised 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 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.