Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $32.72 and traded as high as $34.30. Artesian Resources shares last traded at $33.98, with a volume of 38,228 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Artesian Resources Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.96 and a 200 day moving average of $32.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.67 million, a P/E ratio of 15.04 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.09. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 20.86%.The firm had revenue of $27.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.00 million.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3199 per share. This is a boost from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARTNA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 0.6% in 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 last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 344,107.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 326,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,336,000 after purchasing an additional 326,902 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 15.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 320,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,207,000 after buying an additional 42,000 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew 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 worth $5,301,000 after buying an additional 1,664 shares in the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.