D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Buys New Holdings in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 17,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $550,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.17% of Artesian Resources as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 561,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,740,000 after acquiring an additional 5,491 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Artesian Resources by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 276,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,757,000 after purchasing an additional 19,126 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in Artesian Resources by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 150,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,764,000 after purchasing an additional 7,196 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 85,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 12,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FCA Corp TX lifted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 77,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,466,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

Artesian Resources Price Performance

ARTNA opened at $34.00 on Monday. Artesian Resources Co. has a 1 year low of $29.45 and a 1 year high of $41.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $350.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $33.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.64.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.18. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $25.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.00 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.3074 per share. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is an increase from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Artesian Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

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.