Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 57,100 shares, a decrease of 14.6% from the April 30th total of 66,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 44,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company's stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Artesian Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 4.7% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 927,232 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,275,000 after acquiring an additional 41,357 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in Artesian Resources by 83.5% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 50,164 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 22,821 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 129.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 37,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 21,127 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 53,305 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,686,000 after acquiring an additional 19,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 276,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,757,000 after acquiring an additional 19,126 shares in the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Artesian Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Artesian Resources Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARTNA traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.08. The stock had a trading volume of 26,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,676. The company's 50-day moving average price is $33.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.61. The company has a market capitalization of $340.99 million, a P/E ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Artesian Resources has a fifty-two week low of $29.45 and a fifty-two week high of $41.29.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 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 company had revenue of $25.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Artesian Resources will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.3074 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This is a boost from Artesian Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Artesian Resources's payout ratio is currently 59.13%.

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.