Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 52.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,102 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Artesian Resources were worth $268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources during the second quarter worth $6,220,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources during the second quarter worth $2,856,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources during the second quarter worth $1,032,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 545,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,248,000 after purchasing an additional 14,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources during the second quarter worth $501,000. 57.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Artesian Resources Stock Performance

ARTNA stock opened at $34.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.73. The company has a market capitalization of $351.06 million, a P/E ratio of 17.48 and a beta of 0.21. Artesian Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $32.93 and a 1-year high of $44.78.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $29.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.00 million. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 18.96%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.301 dividend. This is an increase from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

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.