PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 199 Shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 199 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Middlesex Water worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Middlesex Water by 2.3% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 9,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 65.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 2.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 24,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSEX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W lowered Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Middlesex Water from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of MSEX opened at $65.32 on Thursday. Middlesex Water has a one year low of $45.42 and a one year high of $73.47. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.24 and a 200-day moving average of $60.78. 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 (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The firm had revenue of $55.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is 59.13%.

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.