Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 7.0% in 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Middlesex Water by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 434,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,356,000 after purchasing an additional 3,430 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew 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 worth $11,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,983 shares during the period. Thematics Asset Management grew its position in Middlesex Water by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 181,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,808,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Middlesex Water by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 172,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,077,000 after purchasing an additional 5,191 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSEX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Baird R W raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 1.0 %

MSEX stock opened at $62.21 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Middlesex Water has a 12 month low of $45.42 and a 12 month high of $70.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.21.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio 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.