Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 255,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 1.43% of Middlesex Water worth $16,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 12.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 219,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,451,000 after purchasing an additional 24,400 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,889,000 after purchasing an additional 35,282 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 2.1% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 62,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,243,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Middlesex Water by 6.0% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 39,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after buying an additional 2,227 shares during the period. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Middlesex Water in the second quarter valued at $2,016,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSEX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Middlesex Water from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Baird R W cut Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 2.0 %

MSEX stock opened at $66.98 on Friday. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $45.42 and a 52 week high of $73.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.12 and a beta of 0.79.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 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 $55.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.52%.

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.