Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Short Interest Up 18.5% in June

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) saw a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 470,900 shares, a growth of 18.5% from the May 31st total of 397,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 111,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Middlesex Water

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Walter G. Reinhard sold 857 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total value of $48,986.12. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $408,751.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 290.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Middlesex Water during the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 958.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in Middlesex Water during the third quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MSEX. StockNews.com raised shares of Middlesex Water to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Middlesex Water from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSEX traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 70,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 151,990. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.85. Middlesex Water has a one year low of $45.42 and a one year high of $84.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $951.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43 and a beta of 0.80.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.14. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 21.55% and a return on equity of 8.64%. The company had revenue of $40.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.00 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.36%.

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.