Middlesex Water Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.33 (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of 0.325 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th.

Middlesex Water has increased its dividend by an average of 6.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 51 consecutive years. Middlesex Water has a dividend payout ratio of 56.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Middlesex Water to earn $2.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.2%.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSEX traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.18. The stock had a trading volume of 98,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 111,352. Middlesex Water has a fifty-two week low of $45.42 and a fifty-two week high of $84.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $875.90 million, a P/E ratio of 27.94 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.81.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.14). Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 18.96%. The company had revenue of $38.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.00 million. Research analysts anticipate that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Middlesex Water from $69.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Middlesex Water news, Director James F. Jr. Cosgrove bought 1,600 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $51.70 per share, for a total transaction of $82,720.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 9,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,981.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

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.