Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Sets New 1-Year Low After Earnings Miss

Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $44.17 and last traded at $48.2630, with a volume of 50533 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.47.

The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $54.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.08 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 22.15%.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This is a positive change from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is 60.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MSEX. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Middlesex Water from $73.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.67.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSEX. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 483.5% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 35.8% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the first quarter worth $50,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the second quarter worth $72,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 31.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 10.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.21 and its 200-day moving average is $55.97. The firm has a market cap of $922.54 million, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.83.

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.