Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Short Interest Down 15.0% in February

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 408,700 shares, a decline of 15.0% from the February 13th total of 480,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 140,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSEX. StockNews.com raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middlesex Water

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 771.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% in the 4th 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. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,006.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Middlesex Water in the 3rd quarter valued at about $230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 1.5 %

MSEX traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.95. 37,893 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 115,631. Middlesex Water has a one year low of $45.42 and a one year high of $70.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.18.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.00 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.06%.

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.