The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 475 Shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 475 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Middlesex Water in the second quarter worth approximately $2,016,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings 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 worth $4,889,000 after purchasing an additional 35,282 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Middlesex Water by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 219,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,451,000 after purchasing an additional 24,400 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd bought a new stake in Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,392,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Middlesex Water by 479.7% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,524,000 after buying an additional 19,335 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSEX. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Middlesex Water from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ MSEX opened at $59.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.30. Middlesex Water has a 12 month low of $45.42 and a 12 month high of $73.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83 and a beta of 0.82.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The company had revenue of $55.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is a boost from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.13%.

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.