Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 2.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 110,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,225 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Artesian Resources were worth $4,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Artesian Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,220,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its stake in Artesian Resources by 0.6% during the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 157,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 2.3% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 146,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,314 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 12.2% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 143,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,334,000 after purchasing an additional 15,580 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Artesian Resources during the second quarter valued at $2,856,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

Artesian Resources Trading Down 0.7 %

Artesian Resources stock opened at $31.11 on Monday. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $30.96 and a 1 year high of $41.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.53 and its 200-day moving average is $35.75. The company has a market cap of $320.37 million, a P/E ratio of 15.95 and a beta of 0.24.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $29.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.00 million. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 8.57%. On average, equities analysts expect that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.301 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. This is a positive change from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

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.