SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires New Shares in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 3,105 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $129,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 153.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 347.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 1,714 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA raised its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 3,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ARTNA. StockNews.com raised Artesian Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. TheStreet lowered Artesian Resources from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

ARTNA stock opened at $34.33 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.84. Artesian Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $33.42 and a 1-year high of $57.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $353.26 million, a PE ratio of 20.68 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 EPS for the quarter. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 7.62% and a net margin of 16.89%. The business had revenue of $24.55 million during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Artesian Resources Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is 69.88%.

Artesian Resources Profile

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.