Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Artesian Resources Corporation $ARTNA

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its stake in Artesian Resources by 56.5%, now holding only 10,451 shares valued at approximately $351,000.
• Several other hedge funds, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Roffman Miller Associates, increased their positions in Artesian Resources during the first quarter, indicating ongoing institutional interest in the stock.
• Artesian Resources recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3074 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.7% and a payout ratio of 56.68%.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) by 56.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,451 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,550 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Artesian Resources worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ARTNA. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 4,084.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lifted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 17.9% in the first quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 91,294 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,981,000 after acquiring an additional 13,884 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 1.7% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 38,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Artesian Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Artesian Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP John M. Thaeder sold 1,000 shares of Artesian Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.37, for a total transaction of $33,370.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 20,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $687,155.04. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 20.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Artesian Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Artesian Resources has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Artesian Resources stock opened at $33.56 on Monday. Artesian Resources Corporation has a one year low of $29.45 and a one year high of $36.67. The company has a market cap of $346.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.87. The business's 50 day moving average price is $32.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.45.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.05. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 20.84%.The firm had revenue of $28.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.00 million. On average, research analysts predict that Artesian Resources Corporation will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Artesian Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.3074 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Artesian Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.68%.

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.

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