Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) by 169.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,035 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,089 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.16% of Artesian Resources worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Artesian Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Artesian Resources during the third quarter worth about $217,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Artesian Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $289,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,561 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.37% of the company's stock.

Artesian Resources Stock Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ ARTNA traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $31.62. The company had a trading volume of 47,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,469. The firm's 50 day moving average is $32.19 and its 200 day moving average is $35.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Artesian Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.45 and a fifty-two week high of $41.29. The company has a market capitalization of $325.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 0.24.

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

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Artesian Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Artesian Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.