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

Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 97,700 shares, a decrease of 12.5% from the October 15th total of 111,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 29,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artesian Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 545,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,248,000 after acquiring an additional 14,668 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Artesian Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $539,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 4.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 5.9% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the period. Finally, ELCO Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 98.7% during the 2nd quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 11,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the period. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

Shares of ARTNA stock opened at $34.09 on Friday. Artesian Resources has a 12 month low of $32.93 and a 12 month high of $44.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $351.13 million, a PE ratio of 17.48 and a beta of 0.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $29.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.00 million. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 18.96%. Analysts forecast that Artesian Resources will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.301 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.51%.

Artesian Resources Company Profile

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.