Middlesex Water (MSEX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.33 on September 3rd

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 23rd, NASDAQ reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.325 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th.

Middlesex Water has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 51 consecutive years. Middlesex Water has a dividend payout ratio of 55.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research 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 Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSEX traded up $0.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $65.22. The stock had a trading volume of 195,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,144. Middlesex Water has a fifty-two week low of $45.42 and a fifty-two week high of $84.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $54.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.99. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.29 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Walter G. Reinhard sold 857 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.16, for a total transaction of $48,986.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $408,751.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSEX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Middlesex Water from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Middlesex Water to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th.

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.