Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

Separately, TheStreet cut Artesian Resources from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, February 5th.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARTNA opened at $34.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $353.67 million, a PE ratio of 20.70 and a beta of 0.18. Artesian Resources has a fifty-two week low of $33.42 and a fifty-two week high of $57.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.81.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 7.62%. The business had revenue of $24.55 million during the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Artesian Resources will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artesian Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Artesian Resources by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 0.6% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 40,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,709,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 1.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Artesian Resources by 9.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Artesian Resources by 7.8% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.