Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Shares Sold by Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lowered its position in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 55.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 20,124 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Artesian Resources worth $508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ARTNA. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Artesian Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $544,000. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Artesian Resources by 56.1% during the 4th quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 53,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after buying an additional 19,152 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 18,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 703.3% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Artesian Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Artesian Resources Price Performance

Shares of Artesian Resources stock opened at $33.49 on Friday. Artesian Resources Co. has a twelve month low of $29.45 and a twelve month high of $41.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $345.05 million, a P/E ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $33.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.68.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.18. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 18.96%. The firm had revenue of $25.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.00 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.3074 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This is a positive change from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.13%.

Artesian Resources 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.