Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) to Issue Dividend Increase - $0.34 Per Share

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 24th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of 0.34 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Middlesex Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33.

Middlesex Water has increased its dividend by an average of 6.6% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 51 years. Middlesex Water has a payout ratio of 56.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Middlesex Water to earn $2.36 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 55.1%.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 0.1 %

MSEX traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $63.35. The stock had a trading volume of 52,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,084. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.75 and a beta of 0.79. Middlesex Water has a twelve month low of $45.42 and a twelve month high of $73.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.27.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $49.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 8.69%. On average, research analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSEX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Baird R W cut shares of Middlesex Water from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Middlesex Water from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, August 5th.

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.