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

Shares of Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $32.47 and traded as high as $33.10. Artesian Resources shares last traded at $33.02, with a volume of 21,230 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded Artesian Resources from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $347.09 million, a PE ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.48.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.09. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 20.86% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $27.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.00 million.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.3199 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is currently 56.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Artesian Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position 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 buying an additional 2,463 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 10.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 72,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 6,956 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Artesian Resources by 129.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 37,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 21,127 shares during the period. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in Artesian Resources in the second quarter worth about $267,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Artesian Resources by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 22,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 3,631 shares in the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Company Profile

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.