Artesian Resources (ARTNA) Competitors

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) and Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, media sentiment, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, community ranking and risk.

Which has more volatility and risk, MSEX or ARTNA?

Middlesex Water has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Artesian Resources has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MSEX or ARTNA more profitable?

Middlesex Water has a net margin of 22.53% compared to Artesian Resources' net margin of 18.96%. Middlesex Water's return on equity of 9.58% beat Artesian Resources' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Middlesex Water	22.53%	9.58%	3.31%
Artesian Resources	18.96%	8.57%	2.57%

Does the media prefer MSEX or ARTNA?

In the previous week, Middlesex Water had 4 more articles in the media than Artesian Resources. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Middlesex Water and 1 mentions for Artesian Resources. Artesian Resources' average media sentiment score of 1.31 beat Middlesex Water's score of 1.17 indicating that Artesian Resources is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Middlesex Water	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Artesian Resources	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer MSEX or ARTNA?

Middlesex Water received 57 more outperform votes than Artesian Resources when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 59.49% of users gave Middlesex Water an outperform vote while only 53.94% of users gave Artesian Resources an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Middlesex Water	Outperform Votes 235 59.49%	Underperform Votes 160 40.51%
Artesian Resources	Outperform Votes 178 53.94%	Underperform Votes 152 46.06%

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in MSEX or ARTNA?

79.5% of Middlesex Water shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.4% of Artesian Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Middlesex Water shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 20.6% of Artesian Resources shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is MSEX or ARTNA a better dividend stock?

Middlesex Water pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Artesian Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Middlesex Water pays out 56.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Artesian Resources pays out 59.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Middlesex Water has increased its dividend for 52 consecutive years and Artesian Resources has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years.

Do analysts prefer MSEX or ARTNA?

Middlesex Water currently has a consensus target price of $61.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.14%. Given Middlesex Water's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Middlesex Water is more favorable than Artesian Resources.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Middlesex Water	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Artesian Resources	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Which has better earnings and valuation, MSEX or ARTNA?

Middlesex Water has higher revenue and earnings than Artesian Resources. Artesian Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Middlesex Water, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Middlesex Water	$195.65M	5.31	$31.52M	$2.41	24.07
Artesian Resources	$109.29M	3.23	$16.70M	$2.08	16.47

Summary

Middlesex Water beats Artesian Resources on 19 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.