Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Trading Down 3.2%

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) shares traded down 3.2% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $63.40 and last traded at $63.52. 17,426 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 123,072 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet lowered Middlesex Water from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, October 20th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Middlesex Water in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company.

Middlesex Water Trading Down 3.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.56. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67 and a beta of 0.75.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a $0.325 dividend. This is an increase from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Middlesex Water’s payout ratio is currently 70.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning bought a new position in Middlesex Water in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 203,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,911,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 133.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 9,277 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 3.0% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 219,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,720,000 after purchasing an additional 6,434 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 22.0% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 128,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,003,000 after purchasing an additional 23,132 shares during the period. 70.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Middlesex Water Company Profile

Middlesex Water Company owns and operates regulated water utility and wastewater systems. It operates in two segments, Regulated and Non-Regulated. 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.