Short Interest in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Expands By 23.0%

Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 171,100 shares, an increase of 23.0% from the March 15th total of 139,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 37,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Artesian Resources Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of ARTNA stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.04. 47,498 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,202. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.01. Artesian Resources has a fifty-two week low of $33.80 and a fifty-two week high of $58.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $350.27 million, a P/E ratio of 20.51 and a beta of 0.18.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 7.62%. The business had revenue of $24.55 million during the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Artesian Resources will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Artesian Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Artesian Resources's payout ratio is 69.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artesian Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Artesian Resources by 170.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 257,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,811,000 after acquiring an additional 162,092 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in Artesian Resources by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 109,456 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,596,000 after acquiring an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Artesian Resources by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 20,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Artesian Resources by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 12,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 2,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Artesian Resources by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,318 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Artesian Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. TheStreet lowered shares of Artesian Resources from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Monday, February 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.