Middlesex Water (MSEX) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 14th

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th.

Middlesex Water has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.6% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 51 consecutive years. Middlesex Water has a payout ratio of 56.5% meaning 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 Price Performance

NASDAQ MSEX traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.18. The company’s stock 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. Middlesex Water has a fifty-two week low of $45.42 and a fifty-two week high of $84.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $50.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.81. 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 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 business had revenue of $38.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.00 million. Analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Middlesex Water

In other news, Director James F. Jr. Cosgrove bought 1,600 shares of Middlesex Water stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $51.70 per share, with a total value of $82,720.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,981.40. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.