Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Shares Purchased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,225 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.07% of Artesian Resources worth $4,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Artesian Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Artesian Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 7.1% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Artesian Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $289,000. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARTNA opened at $31.11 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Artesian Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.96 and a fifty-two week high of $41.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.53 and a 200-day moving average of $35.75. The stock has a market cap of $320.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95 and a beta of 0.24.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 18.96%. The business had revenue of $29.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.00 million. As a group, analysts predict that Artesian Resources Co. 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 issued a $0.301 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date 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 61.54%.

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.