Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 50,060 shares, a drop of 45.3% from the July 30th total of 91,570 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 31,270 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Artesian Resources from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Artesian Resources Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ ARTNA traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $35.63. The stock had a trading volume of 39,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,257. The company has a market capitalization of $368.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Artesian Resources has a 1 year low of $30.50 and a 1 year high of $36.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.17.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $30.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.80 million. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 9.37% and a net margin of 20.18%.

Artesian Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.3199 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 55.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artesian Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARTNA. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Artesian Resources during the third quarter worth $38,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 985.2% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 422.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Artesian Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.