Short Interest in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Decreases By 8.9%

Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 87,300 shares, a decrease of 8.9% from the November 15th total of 95,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 29,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 7.3% in the second quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 127,890 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,497,000 after acquiring an additional 8,730 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Artesian Resources by 132.6% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,051 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 10,861 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Artesian Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Artesian Resources by 19.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,467 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Artesian Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $539,000. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Artesian Resources stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.43. 30,818 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 48,074. The company has a market cap of $344.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 0.22. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $34.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.07. Artesian Resources has a 52 week low of $32.93 and a 52 week high of $44.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $29.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.00 million. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 18.96%. Equities analysts expect that Artesian Resources will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.301 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. This is an increase from Artesian Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Artesian Resources's payout ratio is 62.05%.

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.