Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Short Interest Up 30.6% in March

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 140,879 shares, a growth of 30.6% from the February 26th total of 107,897 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 56,099 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Artesian Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Artesian Resources in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Artesian Resources stock opened at $32.06 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $330.86 million, a P/E ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 0.36. Artesian Resources has a fifty-two week low of $30.50 and a fifty-two week high of $36.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.03. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 20.76% and a return on equity of 9.52%. The company had revenue of $28.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.00 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Artesian Resources will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.3136 dividend. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artesian Resources

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARTNA. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 39.7% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Artesian Resources by 44.6% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Artesian Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 422.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 3,005 shares during the period. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.