Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $32.64 and traded as high as $32.64. Artesian Resources shares last traded at $32.24, with a volume of 15,892 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ARTNA shares. Zacks Research cut Artesian Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Artesian Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Artesian Resources Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.39 million, a P/E ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.64.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $30.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.00 million. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 20.72%. Research analysts forecast that Artesian Resources Corporation will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.3136 dividend. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This is an increase from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is 57.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artesian Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Artesian Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Artesian Resources by 422.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,005 shares during the period. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in Artesian Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

About Artesian Resources

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: ARTNA) is a publicly traded water and wastewater utility company headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. The company provides regulated water distribution and wastewater collection services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its operating subsidiaries, Artesian is subject to oversight by public utility commissions in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality water in compliance with state and federal standards.

Traced back to its roots as the Artesian Water Company founded in 1905, the organization has expanded its footprint through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions.