Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $32.64 and traded as high as $34.33. Artesian Resources shares last traded at $33.92, with a volume of 42,287 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Artesian Resources from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $32.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $350.05 million, a P/E ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.3199 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is a positive change from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.64%.

Institutional Trading of Artesian Resources

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 514,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,767,000 after acquiring an additional 3,079 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in 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 valued at $10,336,000 after acquiring an additional 326,902 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Artesian Resources by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 320,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,207,000 after acquiring an additional 42,000 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 189,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 1.0% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 166,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664 shares during the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Artesian Resources

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.