Trexquant Investment LP Buys 22,821 Shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) by 83.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,164 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,821 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.49% of Artesian Resources worth $1,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ARTNA. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,459,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. FCA Corp TX grew its position in Artesian Resources by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 77,976 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,466,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Artesian Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Artesian Resources by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 110,317 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Artesian Resources by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,576 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 3,541 shares during the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Artesian Resources stock traded down $0.07 on Tuesday, hitting $34.64. The stock had a trading volume of 5,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,981. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $31.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.83. Artesian Resources Co. has a one year low of $29.45 and a one year high of $41.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $356.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 0.27.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $25.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 8.57%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.3014 dividend. This is a positive change from Artesian Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Artesian Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.61%.

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.