Creative Planning Trims Stock Position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Creative Planning decreased its position in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 819 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSEX. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,016,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,796,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 26.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 150,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,918,000 after buying an additional 31,607 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 12.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 219,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,451,000 after buying an additional 24,400 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,113,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MSEX shares. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Middlesex Water from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, August 5th. 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.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSEX opened at $67.21 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 company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.27 and a beta of 0.79. Middlesex Water has a fifty-two week low of $45.42 and a fifty-two week high of $73.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $63.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.52.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $49.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.00 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 21.14%. Analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.325 dividend. 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%.

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.