Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Share Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Artesian Resources shares briefly moved above their 200-day moving average, reaching $33.64 before last trading at $33.43; the stock was up 1.3%.
• Analyst sentiment remains neutral: two analysts rate the stock Hold, while Weiss Ratings upgraded its assessment from “hold (c)” to “hold (c+).”
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.64, beating estimates by $0.05, and pays an annualized dividend of $1.28, yielding about 3.8%. Institutional investors own 57.37% of the shares.

Shares of Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $33.58 and traded as high as $33.64. Artesian Resources shares last traded at $33.43, with a volume of 13,034 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Artesian Resources from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Artesian Resources Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business's fifty day moving average is $34.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.58. The firm has a market cap of $345.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.34.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $30.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.80 million. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 9.37% and a net margin of 20.18%.

Artesian Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.3199 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Artesian Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artesian Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARTNA. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Artesian Resources in the second quarter worth about $136,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Artesian Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $394,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Artesian Resources by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 320,456 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,207,000 after purchasing an additional 42,000 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its holdings in Artesian Resources by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 29,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FCA Corp TX lifted its position in Artesian Resources by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 69,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,221,000 after purchasing an additional 4,412 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.37% of the company's stock.

About Artesian Resources

Artesian Resources Corporation is a regulated water utility holding company headquartered in Newark, Delaware. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides water and wastewater services to residential, commercial, industrial and governmental customers in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Artesian's principal business is the operation and maintenance of water supply and distribution systems, including the treatment and delivery of potable water. Its subsidiaries also provide wastewater collection and treatment, contract operations, water service management, engineering and other related services.

Founded in 1905, Artesian has expanded from its original Delaware operations to serve communities across the Delmarva Peninsula.

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