Insider Selling: Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Director Sells 300 Shares of Stock

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Director Walter G. Reinhard sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $19,323.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409,067.91. This represents a 4.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

NASDAQ MSEX opened at $60.79 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Middlesex Water has a 12-month low of $45.42 and a 12-month high of $70.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 349.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 23,262 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 7.0% in the 3rd 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 lifted its holdings 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 worth $28,356,000 after buying an additional 3,430 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,560,000 after purchasing an additional 2,544 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSEX. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

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.