Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Stock Position Increased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 561,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,491 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.05% of Artesian Resources worth $17,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Artesian Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $272,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Artesian Resources by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 3,995 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 169.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 10,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 103.7% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 11,502 shares during the period. 57.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artesian Resources Trading Down 0.6 %

Artesian Resources stock opened at $34.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.88 million, a PE ratio of 17.56 and a beta of 0.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.22. Artesian Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $29.45 and a 52 week high of $41.29.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $25.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 8.57%. Equities research analysts forecast that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.3014 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. This is an increase from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

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.