Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.09, Zacks reports. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 20.76% and a return on equity of 9.52%.

Artesian Resources Stock Up 0.4%

Artesian Resources stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $31.41. The company had a trading volume of 30,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,884. The firm has a market capitalization of $324.09 million, a P/E ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.48 and its 200-day moving average is $32.46. Artesian Resources has a fifty-two week low of $30.50 and a fifty-two week high of $35.37.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Artesian Resources by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 30,432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 1,222 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Artesian Resources by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 22,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $755,000 after buying an additional 3,631 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Artesian Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $464,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in Artesian Resources by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Artesian Resources by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 9,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Artesian Resources in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Artesian Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Artesian Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

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.