Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Stock Position Reduced by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE cut its stake in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,498 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Artesian Resources were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 83.5% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 50,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,586,000 after buying an additional 22,821 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 276,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,757,000 after buying an additional 19,126 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 85,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after buying an additional 12,396 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 103.7% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 11,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 63,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 9,438 shares during the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Artesian Resources stock opened at $34.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $356.35 million, a P/E ratio of 17.73 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Artesian Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.45 and a fifty-two week high of $41.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.61.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.18. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $25.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.00 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.3074 per share. This is an increase from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Artesian Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Artesian Resources Company Profile

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.