Insider Selling: Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) SVP Sells 1,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Artesian Resources SVP John Thaeder sold 1,000 shares of the company at an average price of $33.49, resulting in a total transaction of $33,490 and a 4.43% decrease in their ownership position.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3074 per share, yielding approximately 3.7% based on an annualized dividend rate of $1.23.
• Artesian Resources beat earnings expectations with $0.61 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.56, despite reporting revenue that was slightly below expectations.

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) SVP John Thaeder sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total transaction of $33,490.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 21,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $723,116.08. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

Shares of ARTNA traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $33.63. 5,418 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,446. Artesian Resources Corporation has a 1-year low of $29.45 and a 1-year high of $38.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $346.76 million, a PE ratio of 15.52 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 $33.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.19.

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

Artesian Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3074 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Artesian Resources's payout ratio is 56.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Trading of Artesian Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Artesian Resources by 4,084.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Artesian Resources by 985.2% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,713 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,759 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Artesian Resources by 422.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,717 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 3,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.37% of the company's stock.

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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