Middlesex Water Company $MSEX Position Trimmed by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 3.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 111,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,355 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $6,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Middlesex Water by 2.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 193,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,751 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Middlesex Water by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,846,000 after buying an additional 14,725 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 31.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 0.2%

Middlesex Water stock opened at $52.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Middlesex Water Company has a 1-year low of $44.17 and a 1-year high of $68.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.46. The company has a market capitalization of $963.85 million, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.86.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.09). Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 22.15%.The business had revenue of $54.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.08 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Middlesex Water Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is currently 60.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Middlesex Water from $73.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Middlesex Water currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.67.

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.