Middlesex Water raises quarterly dividend 5.56% to $0.38 per share
Key Facts
Middlesex Water announced on October 23 a quarterly cash dividend of $0.38 per common share, up 5.56% from the previous dividend of $0.36, according to a company statement. The company said the increase marks its fifty-fourth year of consecutive dividend increases. That means the announced dividend exceeds the previous level by $0.02 per share. The move comes ahead of the company's results for the third quarter ended September 30, making the dividend the latest financial information available in the disclosures cited here. The company said on October 15 that it planned to release its results after the market close on October 29.
Ahead of the expected results, second-quarter 2026 data showed net income of $14.8 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.79. In the same period of 2025, net income was $10.8 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.60, according to the company. Operating revenue also reached $56.4 million in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of $7.0 million year over year. The company attributed growth in Middlesex System revenue to higher wholesale demand, customer consumption and base rate increases. It attributed Tidewater revenue growth to higher consumption, customer base growth and rate increases.
Third-quarter 2025 results provide an earlier comparison for the same period of the year, with the company then reporting net income of $14.0 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.77. In the third quarter of 2024, net income was $14.3 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.80. Operating revenue was $54.1 million in the third quarter of 2025, down $1 million from the same period in 2024. The company attributed the revenue decline to lower consumption associated with unfavorable weather conditions, partly offset by rate increases and customer growth. In its statement, it said the decline resulted from "lower consumption due to unfavorable weather, partly offset by the effect of rate increases and customer growth."
The dividend path accompanies a broad capital spending program: the company planned to invest about $126 million during 2026 as part of a multiyear capital construction program, according to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. For 2026 to 2028, the company expected to spend about $506 million on its capital investment program. The program includes about $255 million to upgrade the Carl J. Olsen Water Treatment Plant and incorporate the removal of substances known by the abbreviation PFAS. The plant upgrade represents the largest portion of the amount specified in the program for the period, according to figures reported by the company. The dividend announcement therefore comes as the company outlines capital spending plans spanning several years.
Middlesex Water said on October 15 that results for the third quarter, ended September 30, 2026, would be released after the market close on Thursday, October 29. It said the results release and its quarterly 10-Q filing would be available through its investor relations section. Until the scheduled announcement, second-quarter figures and comparative third-quarter 2025 data remain the latest periodic results in the disclosures used here. The company's shares, which trade under the ticker MSEX, closed at $55.38 on October 28, according to EL7 data. The available EL7 data did not include that day's trading range.