Short Interest in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Decreases By 8.9%

Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 87,300 shares, a drop of 8.9% from the November 15th total of 95,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 29,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Artesian Resources Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ ARTNA opened at $33.43 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Artesian Resources has a 1-year low of $32.93 and a 1-year high of $44.59. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.08. The company has a market capitalization of $344.33 million, a PE ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 0.22.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $29.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.00 million. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 18.96%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Artesian Resources will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.301 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artesian Resources

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 127,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,497,000 after buying an additional 8,730 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Artesian Resources by 132.6% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 10,861 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Artesian Resources by 19.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Artesian Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $539,000. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Company Profile

Artesian Resources Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides water, wastewater, and other services in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The company distributes and sells water to residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, municipal, and utility customers, as well as for public and private fire protection in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; and offers wastewater collection, treatment infrastructure, and wastewater services to customers in Delaware.