Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC cut its stake in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,318 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 306 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 290.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Middlesex Water during the first quarter worth $52,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 65.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the fourth quarter valued at $221,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the 1st quarter valued at $266,000. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MSEX. Robert W. Baird downgraded Middlesex Water from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Baird R W cut shares of Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 1.9 %

MSEX opened at $65.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $63.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.58. Middlesex Water has a 12 month low of $45.42 and a 12 month high of $73.47.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.05). Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 21.14%. The firm had revenue of $49.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.00 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.36%.

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.