Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $32.47 and traded as high as $33.10. Artesian Resources shares last traded at $33.02, with a volume of 21,230 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Artesian Resources from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Artesian Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Artesian Resources Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $340.77 million, a P/E ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.09. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 20.86%.The company had revenue of $27.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.00 million.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.3199 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. This is a boost from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is currently 56.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARTNA. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 344,107.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 326,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,336,000 after purchasing an additional 326,902 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources during the second quarter worth $5,034,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources during the third quarter worth $3,048,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Artesian Resources by 15.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 320,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,207,000 after buying an additional 42,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Artesian Resources by 372.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 45,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,443,000 after buying an additional 35,718 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

Artesian Resources Company Profile

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: ARTNA) is a publicly traded water and wastewater utility company headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. The company provides regulated water distribution and wastewater collection services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its operating subsidiaries, Artesian is subject to oversight by public utility commissions in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality water in compliance with state and federal standards.

Traced back to its roots as the Artesian Water Company founded in 1905, the organization has expanded its footprint through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions.