Public Sector Pension Investment Board Sells 1,400 Shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board trimmed its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.21% of Middlesex Water worth $2,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thematics Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 181,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,808,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,429 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 167,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,913,000 after purchasing an additional 6,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter worth about $271,000. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Middlesex Water stock opened at $61.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.90 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.03. Middlesex Water has a 12-month low of $45.42 and a 12-month high of $73.47.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $55.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.00 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. Research analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Middlesex Water from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

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.