Private Advisor Group LLC Has $578,000 Stock Holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 8.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 1st quarter worth $52,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Middlesex Water by 65.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Middlesex Water by 958.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Middlesex Water during the fourth quarter worth about $221,000. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

Shares of MSEX opened at $67.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65 and a beta of 0.79. Middlesex Water has a 12-month low of $45.42 and a 12-month high of $73.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.66.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $47.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 8.69%. Analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is currently 64.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.