Teton Advisors Inc. Has $328,000 Stock Position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Teton Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Teton Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSEX. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Middlesex Water by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $308,000. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $242,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Middlesex Water by 138.3% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 34.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,411 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Middlesex Water news, Director James F. Jr. Cosgrove bought 1,600 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $51.70 per share, with a total value of $82,720.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,981.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Middlesex Water from $69.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Middlesex Water stock traded up $0.42 on Thursday, hitting $52.42. The company had a trading volume of 88,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 165,883. The stock has a market capitalization of $933.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55 and a beta of 0.74. Middlesex Water has a 1 year low of $45.42 and a 1 year high of $84.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.19 and a 200-day moving average of $58.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.86%.

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.