Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Short Interest Down 22.5% in August

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 56,900 shares, a decline of 22.5% from the July 31st total of 73,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 28,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 28,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Artesian Resources news, SVP John M. Thaeder sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.37, for a total value of $33,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 20,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $687,155.04. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 20.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artesian Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 4,084.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 985.2% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 100.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 422.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,005 shares in the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Price Performance

Shares of Artesian Resources stock opened at $33.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Artesian Resources has a fifty-two week low of $29.45 and a fifty-two week high of $38.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.33. The company has a market cap of $341.57 million, a PE ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.35.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $28.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 9.55%. Analysts expect that Artesian Resources will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Artesian Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.3074 per share. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.68%.

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.