Everence Capital Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,520 Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSEX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,427,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,650,000 after purchasing an additional 20,712 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position 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. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 26.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 150,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,918,000 after purchasing an additional 31,607 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 22.4% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 56,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,961,000 after purchasing an additional 10,315 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSEX opened at $64.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.91. Middlesex Water has a 52-week low of $45.42 and a 52-week high of $73.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.01 and a beta of 0.79.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.05). Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 21.14%. The business had revenue of $49.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSEX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Middlesex Water from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Baird R W cut shares of Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

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.