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

Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume of 34,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

Shares of ARTNA stock opened at $35.89 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.55 and a 200 day moving average of $36.78. Artesian Resources has a 52 week low of $33.34 and a 52 week high of $44.78. The firm 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 quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 7.90% and a net margin of 17.74%. The business had revenue of $27.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.00 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Artesian Resources will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Artesian Resources Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artesian Resources

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 22.1% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 216,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,043,000 after acquiring an additional 39,234 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Artesian Resources during the second quarter valued at $539,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings 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 valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 5.9% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

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.