State Street Corp Increases Position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 813,455 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 53,098 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned about 4.56% of Middlesex Water worth $53,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSEX. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 66.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Middlesex Water in the 3rd quarter valued at about $230,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Middlesex Water in the 3rd quarter worth about $230,000. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ MSEX traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $54.77. 353,211 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 131,131. Middlesex Water has a 12-month low of $45.42 and a 12-month high of $70.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $977.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.82. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $64.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.38.

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

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Middlesex Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Middlesex Water's dividend payout ratio is 59.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSEX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Middlesex Water from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America began coverage on Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $56.00 target price for the company.

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.