Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Stock Holdings Lessened by Quadrature Capital Ltd

Quadrature Capital Ltd reduced its holdings in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 53.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,581 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Artesian Resources were worth $233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cullen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Artesian Resources by 454.9% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Artesian Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $93,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Artesian Resources by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Artesian Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $237,000. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Artesian Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARTNA opened at $35.99 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $370.34 million, a PE ratio of 21.17 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.05. Artesian Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.34 and a fifty-two week high of $49.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 7.57%. The company had revenue of $24.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.00 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $0.296 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is an increase from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is 69.41%.

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.