Atria Investments Inc Acquires 431 Shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc owned about 0.06% of Artesian Resources worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 545,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,248,000 after purchasing an additional 14,668 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Artesian Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,220,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 146,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,314 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 127,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,497,000 after acquiring an additional 8,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Artesian Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,856,000. 57.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ARTNA opened at $34.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $353.60 million, a PE ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s fifty day moving average is $35.52 and its 200 day moving average is $36.63. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.93 and a fifty-two week high of $44.78.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 8.57%. Sell-side analysts expect that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.301 dividend. This is a boost from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is 62.05%.

Artesian Resources Profile

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.