Amundi Acquires 8,848 Shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Amundi boosted its holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,848 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $6,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSEX. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 7.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,070,000 after purchasing an additional 53,098 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter worth $1,595,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 4th quarter valued at $1,246,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 349.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 23,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thematics Asset Management grew its position in Middlesex Water by 5.8% in the third quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 181,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,808,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSEX. Bank of America assumed coverage on Middlesex Water in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ MSEX opened at $62.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. Middlesex Water has a 1-year low of $45.42 and a 1-year high of $70.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $52.71 and a 200-day moving average of $59.23. 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 (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 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 $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.06%.

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.