Foundry Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Foundry Partners LLC decreased its position in Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) by 79.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 119,911 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC owned approximately 0.30% of Artesian Resources worth $1,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 131.9% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 24,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $784,000 after buying an additional 13,650 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Artesian Resources in the 4th quarter worth $272,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $407,000. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 56.1% in the 4th quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 53,305 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 19,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 4,084.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Artesian Resources stock traded up $0.46 on Tuesday, hitting $33.97. The stock had a trading volume of 13,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,708. Artesian Resources Corporation has a twelve month low of $29.45 and a twelve month high of $40.43. The stock has a market cap of $350.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 0.33. The business's 50 day moving average is $33.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $25.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 19.60% and a return on equity of 8.98%. Analysts forecast that Artesian Resources Corporation will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.3074 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is a positive change from Artesian Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Artesian Resources's payout ratio is currently 59.13%.

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.