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

Citadel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) by 56.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,305 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,152 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC owned about 0.52% of Artesian Resources worth $1,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ARTNA. FCA Corp TX raised its stake in Artesian Resources by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 77,976 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,466,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 100.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 703.3% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 18,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares during the period. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Price Performance

Shares of Artesian Resources stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $34.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 50,859. The company has a market cap of $355.21 million, a PE ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.36. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.63. Artesian Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $29.45 and a 12-month high of $41.29.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.18. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 18.96%. The company had revenue of $25.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.00 million. Analysts expect that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.3074 dividend. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This is an increase from Artesian Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Artesian Resources's payout ratio is 59.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Artesian Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report 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.