Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Short Interest Down 8.9% in November

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artesian Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Artesian Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Artesian Resources in the second quarter valued at $50,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $217,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Artesian Resources during the third quarter valued at about $289,000. 57.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

ARTNA stock traded up $0.17 on Friday, reaching $33.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 30,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,074. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $344.33 million, a P/E ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 0.22. Artesian Resources has a 52 week low of $32.93 and a 52 week high of $44.59.

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

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.301 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. This is an increase from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 62.05%.

About Artesian Resources

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.