Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.32 Per Share

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.3199 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, May 29th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This is a 2.0% increase from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31.

Artesian Resources has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 8 consecutive years. Artesian Resources has a dividend payout ratio of 56.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARTNA opened at $31.41 on Wednesday. Artesian Resources has a fifty-two week low of $30.50 and a fifty-two week high of $35.37. The stock has a market cap of $324.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.44 and a 200-day moving average of $32.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.09. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 20.76%.The company had revenue of $27.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.00 million.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artesian Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARTNA. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 985.2% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 10.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 72,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 6,956 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 129.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 37,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 21,127 shares during the period. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the second quarter valued at $267,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 19.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 22,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,631 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

About Artesian Resources

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: ARTNA) is a publicly traded water and wastewater utility company headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. The company provides regulated water distribution and wastewater collection services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its operating subsidiaries, Artesian is subject to oversight by public utility commissions in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality water in compliance with state and federal standards.

Traced back to its roots as the Artesian Water Company founded in 1905, the organization has expanded its footprint through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions.