Citadel Advisors LLC Raises Position in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) by 56.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,305 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,152 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC owned 0.52% of Artesian Resources worth $1,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,759 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $272,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 169.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,035 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 10,089 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 ARTNA traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $33.98. 33,278 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,252. Artesian Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $29.45 and a 1-year high of $41.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.69 and a 200-day moving average of $32.63. The stock has a market cap of $350.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.36.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $25.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 8.57%. Analysts expect that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.3074 dividend. This is an increase from Artesian Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Artesian Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.