Legal & General Group Plc Invests $24.57 Million in Middlesex Water Company $MSEX

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 437,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $24,570,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSEX. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Middlesex Water by 13.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 147,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,652,000 after acquiring an additional 17,800 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new position in Middlesex Water in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,820,000. Magellan Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the 2nd quarter worth $871,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the second quarter worth $176,031,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,398,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,530,000 after purchasing an additional 25,363 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In related news, VP Lorrie Beth Ginegaw sold 615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.61, for a total value of $35,430.15. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $229,172.58. This trade represents a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSEX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. New Street Research set a $64.00 price target on Middlesex Water in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.67.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of MSEX opened at $58.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.58 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.10. Middlesex Water Company has a twelve month low of $44.17 and a twelve month high of $62.17.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $56.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.51 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 23.26%.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is presently 55.60%.

Middlesex Water Company Profile

Middlesex Water Company is a regulated utility specializing in the provision of potable water and wastewater collection services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company operates through its wholly owned subsidiaries, supplying treated water and effectively managing sewage collection systems under state and local regulatory frameworks. Its core mission centers on delivering safe, reliable water while complying with stringent environmental and public health standards.

Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey, Middlesex Water has grown from a local water works enterprise into a multi‐state utilities group.