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

Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 35.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 128.3% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the first quarter worth about $50,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the second quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the first quarter worth about $203,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MSEX opened at $55.64 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.83. Middlesex Water Company has a 1 year low of $48.18 and a 1 year high of $70.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued 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 business had revenue of $49.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.60 million. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 9.67%. On average, research analysts forecast that Middlesex Water Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.34 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 56.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.