Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Declares $0.33 Quarterly Dividend

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of 0.325 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th.

Middlesex Water has raised its dividend by an average of 6.6% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 51 consecutive years. Middlesex Water has a dividend payout ratio of 56.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Middlesex Water to earn $2.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.2%.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MSEX stock traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $49.18. The stock had a trading volume of 98,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 111,352. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $875.90 million, a P/E ratio of 27.94 and a beta of 0.74. Middlesex Water has a 1 year low of $45.42 and a 1 year high of $84.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $50.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.81.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $38.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 7.61%. Analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Middlesex Water from $69.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James F. Jr. Cosgrove bought 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $51.70 per share, with a total value of $82,720.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $482,981.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.