Centiva Capital LP Buys New Shares in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 6,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $342,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSEX. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 349.4% in the third 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. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Middlesex Water by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Middlesex Water by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,560,000 after buying an additional 2,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Middlesex Water by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 214,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,311,000 after buying an additional 6,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSEX opened at $60.09 on Monday. Middlesex Water has a 12-month low of $48.18 and a 12-month high of $70.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $61.88 and a 200-day moving average of $58.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The firm had revenue of $44.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.79 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.43%.

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,129,325.60. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Baird R W raised Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

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.