Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.13, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $60.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.90 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 23.26% and a return on equity of 9.59%.

Middlesex Water Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSEX traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $55.35. The company had a trading volume of 121,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,270. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.50. Middlesex Water has a 12 month low of $44.17 and a 12 month high of $59.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 0.74.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is 55.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middlesex Water

In related news, VP Lorrie Ginegaw sold 615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.61, for a total transaction of $35,430.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $229,172.58. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MSEX. Weiss Ratings upgraded Middlesex Water from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. New Street Research set a $64.00 price target on shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $66.00 price target on shares of Middlesex Water in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Middlesex Water presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.67.

Middlesex Water Company Profile

Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) is a regulated water and wastewater utility that owns and operates systems serving residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. Its services include the production, treatment, distribution and sale of potable water, as well as wastewater collection and treatment.

Founded in 1897, the company primarily serves communities in New Jersey and Delaware through its regulated utility operations. Its New Jersey service area includes portions of Middlesex, Union, Somerset and Mercer counties, while its Delaware operations serve customers through the Tidewater Utilities subsidiary.

Middlesex Water also provides contract operations, maintenance and related services for municipal and other public water and wastewater systems.