Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.30

Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 6th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of 0.296 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This is an increase from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29.

Artesian Resources has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 6 consecutive years. Artesian Resources has a dividend payout ratio of 55.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Artesian Resources to earn $2.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 55.2%.

Artesian Resources Stock Down 0.2 %

ARTNA stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.18. 2,836 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,639. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $35.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.26. Artesian Resources has a 12-month low of $33.42 and a 12-month high of $55.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 7.62%. The business had revenue of $24.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.00 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Artesian Resources will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARTNA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TheStreet cut shares of Artesian Resources from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Artesian Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th.

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.