Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Short Interest Update

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 62,041 shares, a decrease of 56.0% from the March 15th total of 140,879 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 176,888 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Artesian Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 344,107.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 326,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,336,000 after purchasing an additional 326,902 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,034,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Artesian Resources during the third quarter worth about $3,048,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 93.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 117,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,830,000 after acquiring an additional 56,890 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 452.0% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 38,525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 31,546 shares during the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

Shares of ARTNA opened at $33.26 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.81 and its 200-day moving average is $32.50. The firm has a market cap of $343.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.64. Artesian Resources has a 52-week low of $30.50 and a 52-week high of $36.19.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.03. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 20.76%.The firm had revenue of $28.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.00 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Artesian Resources will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.3136 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is currently 56.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Artesian Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Artesian Resources in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

About Artesian Resources

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: ARTNA) is a publicly traded water and wastewater utility company headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. The company provides regulated water distribution and wastewater collection services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its operating subsidiaries, Artesian is subject to oversight by public utility commissions in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality water in compliance with state and federal standards.

Traced back to its roots as the Artesian Water Company founded in 1905, the organization has expanded its footprint through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions.