Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Invests $488,000 in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA – Get Rating) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $488,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Amalgamated Bank purchased a new position in Artesian Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Artesian Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new position in Artesian Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $84,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Artesian Resources by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its stake in Artesian Resources by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 3,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. 49.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Artesian Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Artesian Resources

In other news, Director Kenneth R. Biederman sold 3,396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total transaction of $180,259.68. Following the sale, the director now owns 22,875 shares in the company, valued at $1,214,205. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Dian C. Taylor sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $56,676.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 105,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,841,268.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kenneth R. Biederman sold 3,396 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total value of $180,259.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,875 shares in the company, valued at $1,214,205. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,293 shares of company stock worth $508,058. 20.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Artesian Resources Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARTNA opened at $59.79 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $56.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.73. The stock has a market cap of $567.47 million, a PE ratio of 30.35 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.70. Artesian Resources Co. has a one year low of $44.08 and a one year high of $61.95.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $26.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.00 million. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 10.30% and a net margin of 19.44%. On average, analysts forecast that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.2784 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 10th. This is a boost from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 56.35%.

Artesian Resources Profile

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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.