Rhumbline Advisers Sells 8,133 Shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Rhumbline Advisers decreased its position in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 62.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,133 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Artesian Resources were worth $172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ARTNA. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Artesian Resources by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 25.3% during the fourth 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. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in Artesian Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $93,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC increased its position in Artesian Resources by 7.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 14.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 96,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,581,000 after buying an additional 12,523 shares during the period. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARTNA opened at $36.65 on Monday. Artesian Resources Co. has a 12-month low of $33.34 and a 12-month high of $44.78. The company has a market cap of $377.06 million, a PE ratio of 21.56 and a beta of 0.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.29 and a 200 day moving average of $36.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $27.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 17.74% and a return on equity of 7.90%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Artesian Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.296 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is currently 69.41%.

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.