Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 1,084 Shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,084 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Artesian Resources were worth $6,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARTNA. FCA Corp TX boosted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 77,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,466,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 100.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 1,759 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Artesian Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Artesian Resources by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 3,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Artesian Resources by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $544,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Artesian Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARTNA opened at $34.50 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $33.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.69. 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 market cap of $355.45 million, a P/E ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.18. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $25.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.00 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.3074 dividend. This is a positive change from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 57.69%.

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.