Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Shares Break Above 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Artesian Resources shares broke above their 200-day moving average, reaching $33.90 and last trading at $33.83, compared with the $33.52 long-term average.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, while Weiss Ratings modestly upgraded the stock from “hold (c)” to “hold (c+).”
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.64 per share, beating estimates by $0.05, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.3199 per share—an annualized yield of approximately 3.8%.

Shares of Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $33.52 and traded as high as $33.90. Artesian Resources shares last traded at $33.83, with a volume of 18,252 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Artesian Resources from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $349.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.52.

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

Artesian Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.3199 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Artesian Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artesian Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 15.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 320,456 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,207,000 after buying an additional 42,000 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 372.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 45,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,443,000 after buying an additional 35,718 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 30.5% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 73,656 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,346,000 after buying an additional 17,213 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Artesian Resources during the second quarter worth $136,000. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Artesian Resources during the second quarter worth $394,000. Institutional investors own 57.37% of the company's stock.

Artesian Resources Company Profile

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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