Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Director Dennis W. Doll Sells 4,067 Shares of Stock

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total transaction of $244,223.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,129,325.60. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSEX opened at $60.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a PEG 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 company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.10.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is 55.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSEX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Baird R W raised 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 assumed coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlesex Water

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,471,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,440,000 after purchasing an additional 126,732 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 751.4% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 91,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,817,000 after buying an additional 80,779 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 187.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 92,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,871,000 after acquiring an additional 60,337 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 7.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,070,000 after acquiring an additional 53,098 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Middlesex Water in the fourth quarter worth about $2,619,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

About Middlesex Water

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.