Atom Investors LP Sells 15,846 Shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Atom Investors LP reduced its holdings in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 21.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,846 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP owned approximately 0.56% of Artesian Resources worth $2,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Artesian Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $217,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake 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 period. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

Artesian Resources stock opened at $34.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.30 million, a P/E ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 0.21. Artesian Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $32.93 and a 1-year high of $44.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.21 and its 200 day moving average is $36.42.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 18.96%. Research analysts forecast that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.301 dividend. This is a positive change from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is presently 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.