Short Interest in Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Declines By 36.6%

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 86,194 shares, a decline of 36.6% from the June 30th total of 135,967 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 30,883 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artesian Resources

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Artesian Resources by 44.6% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Artesian Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Artesian Resources by 985.2% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Artesian Resources by 422.1% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,005 shares during the period. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised Artesian Resources from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two investment 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 Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARTNA opened at $34.35 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.39 and a 200-day moving average of $32.90. The firm has a market cap of $354.49 million, a P/E ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.34. Artesian Resources has a twelve month low of $30.50 and a twelve month high of $35.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.09. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 20.86% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $27.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.00 million.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.3199 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. This is a positive change from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is currently 56.64%.

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.