Cullen Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Cullen Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 423 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Middlesex Water by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 19,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,006.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Middlesex Water during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Middlesex Water

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of Middlesex Water stock opened at $63.76 on Friday. 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 has a 52 week low of $45.42 and a 52 week high of $70.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $56.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.79.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is currently 55.06%.

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.