Short Interest in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Declines By 12.5%

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artesian Resources

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Artesian Resources by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 545,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,248,000 after purchasing an additional 14,668 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Artesian Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,220,000. Costello Asset Management INC grew its holdings in Artesian Resources by 0.6% during the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 157,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in Artesian Resources by 2.3% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 146,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,314 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in Artesian Resources by 12.2% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 143,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,334,000 after purchasing an additional 15,580 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

Artesian Resources Trading Up 0.4 %

ARTNA opened at $34.09 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $351.06 million, a PE ratio of 17.48 and a beta of 0.21. Artesian Resources has a 1-year low of $32.93 and a 1-year high of $44.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.73.

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

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.301 per share. This is a boost from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

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.