Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 13,650 Shares of Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) by 131.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 13,650 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.23% of Artesian Resources worth $784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Artesian Resources by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 85,766 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,712,000 after acquiring an additional 12,396 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Artesian Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $272,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Artesian Resources by 103.7% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,598 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 11,502 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Artesian Resources by 1.0% during the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

ARTNA stock traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $34.53. The company had a trading volume of 13,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,523. Artesian Resources Corporation has a one year low of $29.45 and a one year high of $41.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $355.95 million, a P/E ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 0.33. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $34.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.58.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $25.00 million. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 19.60%. Research analysts anticipate that Artesian Resources Corporation will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.3074 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. This is an increase from Artesian Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Artesian Resources's dividend 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.