Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $30.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.80 million. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 9.42% and a net margin of 20.18%.

Artesian Resources Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of ARTNA stock opened at $34.66 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.57 and a 200 day moving average of $32.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Artesian Resources has a 1-year low of $30.50 and a 1-year high of $35.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $357.69 million, a PE ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.33.

Artesian Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.3199 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is 56.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Trading of Artesian Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 514,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,767,000 after purchasing an additional 3,079 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in Artesian Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,034,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 109,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,451,000 after buying an additional 1,919 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Artesian Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,048,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Artesian Resources by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 72,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 6,956 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

Artesian Resources Company Profile

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.