GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 1,307 Shares of Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 4,084.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Artesian Resources were worth $41,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Artesian Resources by 703.3% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 100.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 1,759 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Artesian Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $272,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 3,995 shares during the period. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Artesian Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $544,000. Institutional investors own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Artesian Resources Price Performance

Shares of ARTNA stock opened at $33.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $344.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $34.09 and its 200 day moving average is $32.57. Artesian Resources Corporation has a twelve month low of $29.45 and a twelve month high of $41.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $25.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 19.60% and a return on equity of 8.98%. Research analysts expect that Artesian Resources Corporation will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.3074 dividend. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. This is a boost from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.13%.

Artesian Resources Company 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.