Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $50.13, but opened at $53.20. Middlesex Water shares last traded at $56.20, with a volume of 56,587 shares trading hands.

The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.13. The company 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSEX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 349.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 23,262 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,070,000 after acquiring an additional 53,098 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 434,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,356,000 after acquiring an additional 3,430 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 9.7% in 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, Thematics Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 181,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,808,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $51.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.18. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85.

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.