Rhumbline Advisers Has $2.86 Million Stock Holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Rhumbline Advisers cut its holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,919 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.30% of Middlesex Water worth $2,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 53,098 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 349.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,952,000 after purchasing an additional 23,262 shares during the last quarter. Thematics Asset Management grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 5.8% during the third quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 181,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,808,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 4.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 167,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,913,000 after purchasing an additional 6,844 shares during the period. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the third quarter worth $292,000. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSEX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Middlesex Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Baird R W raised Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of MSEX traded up $2.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $61.09. 131,788 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 117,490. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock's fifty day moving average is $51.32 and its 200 day moving average is $59.17. Middlesex Water has a 1-year low of $45.42 and a 1-year high of $70.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The firm had revenue of $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Middlesex Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.06%.

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.