Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Short Interest Up 48.4% in April

Key Points

• Short interest up 48.4% — short interest rose to 92,050 shares as of April 15 (from 62,041 on March 31), about 1.1% of shares outstanding and a days-to-cover ratio of 2.4.
• Artesian beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.40 vs. $0.37) with $28.02M in revenue; the company has a market cap of $326.8M, a PE of 14.27, and pays a dividend that annualizes to $1.25 for a 4.0% yield (payout ratio ~56.3%).
• Institutional ownership is high at roughly 57.4%, with recent stake increases reported from firms including Goldman Sachs, Jane Street and Jones Financial.

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 92,050 shares, a growth of 48.4% from the March 31st total of 62,041 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 38,879 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARTNA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Artesian Resources from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Artesian Resources in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Artesian Resources has an average rating of "Hold".

Artesian Resources Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Artesian Resources stock opened at $31.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $326.83 million, a PE ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company's fifty day moving average price is $32.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.49. Artesian Resources has a 52-week low of $30.50 and a 52-week high of $36.19.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $28.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 20.76% and a return on equity of 9.52%.

Artesian Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.3136 dividend. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Artesian Resources's payout ratio is 56.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artesian Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 985.2% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,713 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 72,289 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 6,956 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 129.0% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 37,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 21,127 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $267,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 22,501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,631 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.37% of the company's stock.

About Artesian Resources

Artesian Resources Corporation NASDAQ: ARTNA is a publicly traded water and wastewater utility company headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. The company provides regulated water distribution and wastewater collection services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its operating subsidiaries, Artesian is subject to oversight by public utility commissions in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality water in compliance with state and federal standards.

Traced back to its roots as the Artesian Water Company founded in 1905, the organization has expanded its footprint through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

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