Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $62.79, but opened at $57.85. Middlesex Water shares last traded at $59.48, with a volume of 13,860 shares.

The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm had revenue of $44.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.79 million.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSEX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Baird R W raised Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total transaction of $244,223.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,129,325.60. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Middlesex Water

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSEX. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Middlesex Water by 771.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Middlesex Water by 1,006.4% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $61.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

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.