XTX Topco Ltd Buys New Stake in Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd acquired 7,557 shares of Artesian Resources Corporation, valued at approximately $247,000, representing 0.07% ownership in the company.
• Artesian Resources announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3074 per share, equating to a 3.6% dividend yield, with the ex-dividend date set for August 15th.
• The company's stock was recently upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street analysts, indicating positive growth expectations.

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,557 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $247,000. XTX Topco Ltd owned about 0.07% of Artesian Resources at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 703.3% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 2,110 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 100.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 1,759 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Artesian Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $272,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Artesian Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $407,000. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARTNA traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $32.78. 70,772 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,875. The stock has a market capitalization of $337.96 million, a P/E ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.34. Artesian Resources Corporation has a 52 week low of $29.45 and a 52 week high of $38.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.11.

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

Artesian Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.3074 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Artesian Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.