Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Stake in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 87,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 18,414 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Artesian Resources were worth $2,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Artesian Resources by 100.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 1,759 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $272,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 169.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 10,089 shares in the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ARTNA opened at $34.66 on Friday. Artesian Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.45 and a fifty-two week high of $41.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.22 and its 200 day moving average is $32.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $357.10 million, a PE ratio of 17.77 and a beta of 0.27.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $25.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 8.57%. Sell-side analysts expect that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.3014 dividend. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is a positive change from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.61%.

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.