Artesian Resources (ARTNA) Competitors

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) and Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, community ranking, profitability, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and dividends.

Does the media favor ARTNA or MSEX?

In the previous week, Middlesex Water had 5 more articles in the media than Artesian Resources. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Middlesex Water and 2 mentions for Artesian Resources. Artesian Resources' average media sentiment score of 0.79 beat Middlesex Water's score of 0.70 indicating that Artesian Resources is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Artesian Resources	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Middlesex Water	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ARTNA or MSEX more profitable?

Middlesex Water has a net margin of 22.53% compared to Artesian Resources' net margin of 18.96%. Middlesex Water's return on equity of 9.58% beat Artesian Resources' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Artesian Resources	18.96%	8.57%	2.57%
Middlesex Water	22.53%	9.58%	3.31%

Is ARTNA or MSEX a better dividend stock?

Artesian Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Middlesex Water pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Artesian Resources pays out 60.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Middlesex Water pays out 55.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Middlesex Water has raised its dividend for 52 consecutive years.

Do analysts rate ARTNA or MSEX?

Middlesex Water has a consensus target price of $58.50, indicating a potential downside of 8.41%. Given Middlesex Water's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Middlesex Water is more favorable than Artesian Resources.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Artesian Resources	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Middlesex Water	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer ARTNA or MSEX?

Middlesex Water received 57 more outperform votes than Artesian Resources when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 60.31% of users gave Middlesex Water an outperform vote while only 53.80% of users gave Artesian Resources an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Artesian Resources	Outperform Votes 177 53.80%	Underperform Votes 152 46.20%
Middlesex Water	Outperform Votes 234 60.31%	Underperform Votes 154 39.69%

Which has better earnings & valuation, ARTNA or MSEX?

Middlesex Water has higher revenue and earnings than Artesian Resources. Artesian Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Middlesex Water, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Artesian Resources	$107.95M	3.11	$16.70M	$1.98	16.45
Middlesex Water	$191.88M	5.95	$31.52M	$2.47	25.86

Which has more risk and volatility, ARTNA or MSEX?

Artesian Resources has a beta of 0.27, meaning that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Middlesex Water has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in ARTNA or MSEX?

57.4% of Artesian Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.5% of Middlesex Water shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.6% of Artesian Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Middlesex Water shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Middlesex Water beats Artesian Resources on 19 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.