Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $272,000 in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,587 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $272,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.08% of Artesian Resources as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Artesian Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 100.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Artesian Resources by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 3,995 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Artesian Resources by 169.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,035 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 10,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 103.7% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,598 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 11,502 shares in the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Artesian Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

ARTNA traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.92. 2,642 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 50,672. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $349.43 million, a PE ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 0.36. The company's 50-day moving average is $33.23 and its 200 day moving average is $32.68. Artesian Resources Co. has a 52 week low of $29.45 and a 52 week high of $41.29.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.18. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $25.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.00 million. On average, research analysts expect that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.3074 per share. This is an increase from Artesian Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Artesian Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.