Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Short Interest Update

Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) saw a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 86,100 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the September 15th total of 81,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 34,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Artesian Resources Price Performance

NASDAQ ARTNA opened at $35.89 on Friday. Artesian Resources has a one year low of $33.34 and a one year high of $44.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.55 and a 200 day moving average of $36.78. The company has a market capitalization of $369.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $27.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.00 million. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 7.90% and a net margin of 17.74%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Artesian Resources will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Artesian Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.296 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is 69.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 2.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 545,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,248,000 after purchasing an additional 14,668 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 22.1% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 216,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,043,000 after purchasing an additional 39,234 shares during the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Artesian Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $539,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Artesian Resources

Artesian Resources Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides water, wastewater, and other services in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The company distributes and sells water to residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, municipal, and utility customers, as well as for public and private fire protection in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; and offers wastewater collection, treatment infrastructure, and wastewater services to customers in Delaware.