Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys New Holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 30,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.17% of Middlesex Water at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 19,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Middlesex Water by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 214,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,983 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Middlesex Water by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,560,000 after purchasing an additional 2,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSEX. Bank of America initiated coverage on Middlesex Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Baird R W raised Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 3.6 %

MSEX opened at $61.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.17. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $45.42 and a 52 week high of $70.73. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.06%.

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.