Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Separately, TheStreet lowered shares of Artesian Resources from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th.

Artesian Resources Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of ARTNA stock opened at $35.19 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Artesian Resources has a 1 year low of $33.84 and a 1 year high of $58.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $362.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 0.18.

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

Artesian Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARTNA. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 170.0% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 257,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,811,000 after buying an additional 162,092 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 6.3% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 109,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,596,000 after buying an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 11.3% during the third 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 during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 21.3% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 6.7% during the third 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 during the period. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.