Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 123,800 shares, a decrease of 9.6% from the July 31st total of 136,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 35,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.
Artesian Resources Stock Down 2.0 %
Shares of NASDAQ ARTNA opened at $54.90 on Wednesday. Artesian Resources has a 12 month low of $36.55 and a 12 month high of $60.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.52 and a beta of 0.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.38 and a 200-day moving average of $48.96.
Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 18.62%. Sell-side analysts expect that Artesian Resources will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Artesian Resources Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 9th were given a $0.273 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 8th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is 58.60%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Separately, StockNews.com lowered Artesian Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 25th.
Insider Buying and Selling at Artesian Resources
In other news, Director Nicholle Renee Taylor sold 4,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total transaction of $270,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,194,036. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Artesian Resources news, Director Nicholle Renee Taylor sold 4,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total value of $270,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,194,036. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Eisenbrey, Jr. sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.02, for a total value of $729,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,849,609.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 20.59% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Artesian Resources
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARTNA. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Artesian Resources by 7.8% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Artesian Resources by 5.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 58,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,188 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Artesian Resources by 97.4% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 4,490 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 53.9% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 190,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,373,000 after buying an additional 66,776 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new position in shares of Artesian Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Institutional investors own 49.15% of the company’s stock.
About Artesian Resources
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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.
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