Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New $407,000 Investment in Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,473 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $407,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.12% of Artesian Resources as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Artesian Resources by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 85,766 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,712,000 after buying an additional 12,396 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $272,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 11,502 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Artesian Resources by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 561,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,740,000 after purchasing an additional 5,491 shares during the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artesian Resources Trading Down 0.6%

ARTNA stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.23. 112,764 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 46,100. The firm has a market capitalization of $342.60 million, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business's 50 day moving average price is $34.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.58. Artesian Resources Corporation has a 52-week low of $29.45 and a 52-week high of $41.29.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $25.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.00 million. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 19.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Artesian Resources Corporation will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.3074 per share. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. This is a boost from Artesian Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Artesian Resources's payout ratio is 59.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Artesian Resources

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.