Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA – Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Artesian Resources Trading Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ ARTNA opened at $52.14 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $57.87 and a 200-day moving average of $54.83. The company has a market cap of $494.81 million, a P/E ratio of 27.59 and a beta of 0.15. Artesian Resources has a 12 month low of $44.08 and a 12 month high of $63.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Artesian Resources Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.278 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 8th. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.73%.

Institutional Trading of Artesian Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. purchased a new position in Artesian Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $310,000. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Artesian Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Artesian Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $246,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 124.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 405,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,771,000 after acquiring an additional 224,669 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 89,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,238,000 after acquiring an additional 10,399 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.19% of the company’s stock.

Artesian Resources Company Profile

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Artesian Resources Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of water resource management. Its activities include residential, commercial water and wastewater, government and contract services, and developers. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Newark, DE.