Middlesex Water to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.33 (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.325 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th.

Middlesex Water has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 51 consecutive years. Middlesex Water has a dividend payout ratio of 56.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Middlesex Water to earn $2.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.2%.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSEX traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.18. 98,575 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 111,352. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $50.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.81. The firm has a market cap of $875.90 million, a PE ratio of 27.94 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $45.42 and a 52 week high of $84.38.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.14). Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 18.96%. The business had revenue of $38.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.00 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Middlesex Water from $69.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st.

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In other news, Director James F. Jr. Cosgrove acquired 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $51.70 per share, with a total value of $82,720.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $482,981.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

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.