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

Key Points

• Artesian Resources Corporation experienced a 22.5% drop in short interest in August, with total short interest falling from 73,400 shares to 56,900 shares.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting an EPS of $0.61 against a consensus estimate of $0.56.
• Artesian Resources declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3074, yielding an annualized dividend of $1.23 with a payout ratio of 56.68%.

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 56,900 shares, adropof22.5% from the July 31st total of 73,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 28,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 28,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP John M. Thaeder sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.37, for a total transaction of $33,370.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 20,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $687,155.04. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 20.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Artesian Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 44.6% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,632 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 38,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 9,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 30,432 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 4,084.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the period. 57.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARTNA traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $32.95. 2,768 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,752. Artesian Resources has a 52 week low of $29.45 and a 52 week high of $38.94. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $33.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.33. The company has a market cap of $339.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $28.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 9.55%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Artesian Resources will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.3074 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Artesian Resources's payout ratio is currently 56.68%.

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.

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