JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Holdings in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 169.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,089 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.16% of Artesian Resources worth $596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 143,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,334,000 after buying an additional 15,580 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 110,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,104,000 after buying an additional 2,225 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Artesian Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,856,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Artesian Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

Artesian Resources Price Performance

ARTNA stock opened at $30.73 on Tuesday. 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 52 week low of $29.45 and a 52 week high of $41.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.19 and its 200 day moving average is $35.06. The firm has a market cap of $316.52 million, a P/E ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 0.24.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $29.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 8.57%. Research analysts predict that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company 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 yield of 3.92%. 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 62.05%.

Artesian Resources Company 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.