Short Interest in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Decreases By 18.3%

Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 79,800 shares, a drop of 18.3% from the August 15th total of 97,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 74,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Artesian Resources in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Artesian Resources during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $93,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Artesian Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $161,000. Institutional investors own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARTNA traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $38.58. 28,105 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,647. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58 and a beta of 0.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Artesian Resources has a 1-year low of $33.34 and a 1-year high of $47.14.

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

Artesian Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.296 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is 69.41%.

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.