Amalgamated Bank Sells 479 Shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Amalgamated Bank lowered its stake in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 8.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 479 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Middlesex Water by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 15,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 290.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Middlesex Water by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 17,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,146,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

MSEX stock opened at $65.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.52. Middlesex Water has a 1 year low of $45.42 and a 1 year high of $73.47. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 32.30 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $47.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 8.69%. Equities analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSEX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Middlesex Water from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Middlesex Water 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.