Middlesex Water Company

Middlesex Water, incorporated in 1897, owns and operates water and wastewater systems, mainly in New Jersey and Delaware. Most of these systems are regulated utilities. That means state agencies such as the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approve the rates customers pay. Across its regulated systems it serves about 131,000 customers. It also runs water and wastewater systems under contract for towns and private clients.

The Middlesex System in central New Jersey is the core of the business, producing about 67% of 2025 operating revenues. It serves about 61,000 retail customers, mainly in eastern Middlesex County. It also supplies water wholesale to Edison, Marlboro, Rahway, Highland Park and the Old Bridge Municipal Utilities Authority. Tidewater, in Delaware, produced about 25% of revenues. It serves about 65,000 retail customers in more than 485 communities across New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties.

Smaller pieces make up the rest. The Pinelands water and wastewater systems in Burlington County, New Jersey, produced about 1% each. Running Perth Amboy's water and wastewater systems under an agreement that expires in December 2028 produced about 4%. Other contract work added a little more. By customer type, homes provided 52.7% of 2025 revenue, businesses 15.6%, wholesale contract sales 10.6%, fire protection 7.8%, industry 6.9% and contract operations 6.4%. Revenue for 2025 was $194.7 million and net income was $42.8 million.

• In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $60.2M, up 11.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $18.0M (+29.2%).
• For fiscal 2025, revenue was $194.7M (+1.5% year over year; +6.6% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 22% net margin.

• Over FY2021–FY2025: $2.1M in buybacks and $111.0M in dividends.
• At least 9 consecutive annual increases: every fiscal year in the SEC data (FY2016–FY2025) shows an increase; the true streak may be longer.
• Regular dividends per share grew +5.8% a year over 5 years (FY2020–FY2025).
• Dividends took 58.2% of earnings in the latest fiscal year.
• Shares outstanding changed +9.3% from Oct 29, 2021 to Oct 28, 2026.

Rank among 1514 US companies

Market value at each year end

Middlesex Water’s market value went from $699.5M at the end of 2016 to $1.06B on Oct 28, 2026, up 51%; since the end of 2025 it is up 15%.

Form 4 filings from 2025-10-30 to 2026-10-30 (25 read): 1 open-market purchases ($109K) and 3 sales ($59K).

Large shareholders (13G filings)

ETFs with the most weight in MSEX

1. Concentrated in central New Jersey and Delaware. Most of its business is in central New Jersey and Delaware. Local regulatory decisions, economic slowdowns, population shifts or bad weather there can hurt results more than at a more spread-out utility.
2. Water contamination and lawsuits. Its water has been contaminated in the past, and customers have filed claims. Future contamination could interrupt service, require costly treatment and bring lawsuits. Recovering those costs through rates isn't guaranteed.
3. Drought, freezing weather and climate swings. Drought or overused aquifers (underground water reserves) can limit supply. Freezing weather can break water mains, and cool, rainy summers can cut water use and revenue. Climate variability may make such events more frequent.
4. Regulators decide what it can charge. New Jersey and Delaware regulators set its rates. They may not let it recover costs, such as new treatment or storm protection, in full, on time or at all.
5. Relies on borrowing and new stock. Spending on pipes and plants exceeded cash from operations each year from 2020 to 2024. It relies on borrowing and new stock, both needing regulator approval. Debt totaled $403 million at June 30, 2026.
6. Operating contracts can cost more than they pay. When it runs water and wastewater systems for towns such as Perth Amboy and Avalon, its costs can exceed the payments it receives. The Perth Amboy agreement expires in December 2028.

• Oct 29, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Jul 30, 2026 Quarterly results released
• May 20, 2026 Shareholder vote results
• Apr 30, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Mar 26, 2026 Executive or board change
• Feb 24, 2026 Major agreement signed
• Feb 19, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Dec 22, 2025 Executive or board change
• Oct 31, 2025 Quarterly results released

Middlesex Water raised its dividend for at least nine straight years through fiscal 2025. Dividends per share rose from $1.04 in 2020 to $1.38 in 2025, about 5.8% a year. Dividends took 58.2% of 2025 earnings, and the yield was 2.6% as of October 28, 2026. The catch: free cash flow (cash from operations minus spending on pipes and plants) was negative every year from 2020 to 2024, so borrowing and new shares filled the gap. Share repurchases were tiny: $2.1 million over 2021–2025, against $111 million in dividends.

The shares have fallen hard in downturns. They dropped 36.5% from peak to low in the 2008 financial crisis and recovered in about 10 months. In the 2020 COVID crash they fell 27.6% and recovered in under three months. In the 2022 bear market they fell 36.4% and had not regained their January 2022 peak as of October 28, 2026. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.