Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 42,000 Shares of Artesian Resources Corporation $ARTNA

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 15.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 320,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,000 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Artesian Resources were worth $10,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in Artesian Resources by 23.4% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 29,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. FCA Corp TX grew its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 69,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,221,000 after acquiring an additional 4,412 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 73,656 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 17,213 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the 1st quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Artesian Resources by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 189,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the period. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

Artesian Resources stock opened at $34.35 on Monday. Artesian Resources Corporation has a 12-month low of $30.50 and a 12-month high of $35.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $354.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.39 and a 200 day moving average of $32.91. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $27.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 20.86% and a return on equity of 9.61%.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

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