Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 30,315 Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 30,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Middlesex Water by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 172,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,077,000 after buying an additional 5,191 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 1.0% in 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 period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Middlesex Water by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Middlesex Water by 3.4% during the fourth 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. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 3.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 1.4 %

MSEX stock opened at $60.01 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Middlesex Water has a fifty-two week low of $45.42 and a fifty-two week high of $70.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $45.00 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is 55.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MSEX. StockNews.com upgraded Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upgraded 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 upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price target 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.