SG Americas Securities LLC Takes Position in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,105 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $129,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Artesian Resources by 2.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 103,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,042,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Artesian Resources by 57.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 4,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Artesian Resources by 3.0% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,295 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Artesian Resources by 17.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 779,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,845,000 after purchasing an additional 115,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Artesian Resources by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 397,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

Artesian Resources Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Artesian Resources stock opened at $34.33 on Thursday. Artesian Resources Co. has a 1 year low of $33.42 and a 1 year high of $57.69. The business has a 50-day moving average of $35.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.84. The company has a market capitalization of $353.26 million, a P/E ratio of 20.68 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 7.62% and a net margin of 16.89%. The company had revenue of $24.55 million during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Artesian Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ARTNA shares. TheStreet downgraded Artesian Resources from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Artesian Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday.

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.