Inspire Investing LLC Buys 1,876 Shares of Middlesex Water Company $MSEX

Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,876 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSEX. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 22.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 23,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,291 shares during the period. CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the first quarter valued at about $831,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 29.9% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 25,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after acquiring an additional 5,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 2.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 88,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,701,000 after acquiring an additional 2,293 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of Middlesex Water stock opened at $55.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Middlesex Water Company has a 12-month low of $48.18 and a 12-month high of $70.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $53.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.35.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $49.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.60 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 22.15%. On average, analysts forecast that Middlesex Water Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.20%.

Middlesex Water 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.