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

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

Middlesex Water has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 51 years. Middlesex Water has a dividend payout ratio of 56.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 %

MSEX stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.18. The company had a trading volume of 98,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 111,352. The stock has a market cap of $875.90 million, a PE ratio of 27.94 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.44 and a 200-day moving average of $58.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Middlesex Water has a one year low of $45.42 and a one year high of $84.38.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In related news, Director James F. Jr. Cosgrove purchased 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $51.70 per share, with a total value of $82,720.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 9,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,981.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

About Middlesex Water

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.