Artesian Resources Corporation $ARTNA Shares Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 372.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,718 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Artesian Resources were worth $1,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Artesian Resources by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 514,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,767,000 after purchasing an additional 3,079 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 326,902 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the second quarter valued at $5,034,000. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA raised its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 137,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,341,000 after buying an additional 19,342 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 125,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,972,000 after buying an additional 8,127 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered Artesian Resources from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

Artesian Resources Price Performance

Shares of ARTNA opened at $33.94 on Thursday. Artesian Resources Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $30.50 and a fifty-two week high of $34.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.55. The company has a market cap of $350.26 million, a P/E ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.09. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 20.86% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The company had revenue of $27.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.00 million.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.3199 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This is an increase from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is 56.64%.

Artesian Resources 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.