DRW Securities LLC Takes $642,000 Position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 12,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $642,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 7.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,070,000 after acquiring an additional 53,098 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 434,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,356,000 after purchasing an additional 3,430 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 214,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,311,000 after buying an additional 6,983 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 172,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,077,000 after buying an additional 5,191 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 128,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,470,000 after buying an additional 8,848 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MSEX opened at $60.46 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.80. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $45.42 and a 52 week high of $70.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $57.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.00 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,325.60. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSEX. Baird R W upgraded Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Middlesex Water has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Middlesex Water 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.