Artesian Resources (ARTNA) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $318.90M
• Dividend Yield: 3.87%
• Average Volume (3M): 26.21K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 14.3
• Beta (1Y): 0.24
• Revenue Growth: 5.80%
• EPS Growth: 12.33%
• Country: US
• Employees: 245
• Sector: Utilities
• Sector Strength: 65
• Industry: Regulated Water
• EPS (TTM): 0.40
• Shares Outstanding: 9,436,930
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 23,876
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 26,215
• PEG Ratio: 1.23
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.30
• Price to Sales (P/S): 2.89
• P/FCF Ratio: -17.62
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.56
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 4.41
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 10.21
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 9.47
• 1Y Price Target: N/A
• Price Target Upside: N/A
• Rating Consensus: N/A
• Number of Analyst Covering: 0
• EPS Forecast (FY): 2
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $117.00M

• Rating: 67 Neutral
• Price Target: $35.00 ▲(11.01% Upside)
• Action: Downgraded Date: 03/17/26
• Date: Action: Downgraded 03/17/26

The score is driven primarily by solid financial performance (steady growth, strong profitability, and a much improved balance sheet) and supportive valuation (moderate P/E with a strong dividend yield). These positives are tempered by weak technicals, with the stock trading below key moving averages and bearish momentum indicators.

Positive Factors

Regulated business model

As a regulated water/wastewater utility, Artesian benefits from cost recovery and an allowed return on invested capital through state rate proceedings. That structure provides predictable cash flows and earnings visibility over multi-quarter horizons, supporting financing and dividend stability.

Balance sheet strength

Material deleveraging in 2025 meaningfully reduces financial risk and interest burden. Near-zero leverage improves flexibility to fund capital projects, respond to regulatory lag, and maintain distributions without dependence on new debt, enhancing medium-term resilience.

Cash flow recovery & steady revenue

A strong FCF rebound combined with multi-year revenue growth and consistent profitability indicates the company can convert regulated earnings into cash. This improves ability to self-fund capex, sustain dividends, and reduce external financing dependence over coming quarters.

Negative Factors

Free-cash-flow volatility

Historic multi-year negative free cash flow reflects heavy, lumpy investment spending in prior years. Even with a 2025 rebound, this pattern suggests capex timing can sharply swing distributable cash and requires monitoring to ensure cash generation remains consistent under typical utility cycles.

Gross margin compression

A sharp decline in gross margin implies rising direct costs or a less profitable revenue mix. If sustained, margin pressure could reduce operating leverage and net income, forcing more frequent or larger rate cases to preserve returns, which is a slow and uncertain remedy.

Concentrated service territory

High geographic concentration in Delaware and nearby markets limits diversification of customer and regulatory risk. Local economic, regulatory, or climate events could disproportionately affect revenues and require localized rate actions, constraining growth and increasing exposure to single-region shocks.

Artesian Resources Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

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. It also provides contract water and wastewater services; water, sewer, and internal service line protection plans; and wastewater management services, as well as design, construction, and engineering services. In addition, the company offers services to other water utilities, including operations and billing functions; owns real estate properties, including land for office buildings, a water treatment plant, and wastewater facility; and provides design, installation, maintenance, and repair services related to existing or proposed storm water management systems. As of December 31, 2021, it served approximately 91,700 customers in Delaware, 2,500 customers in Maryland, and 40 customers in Pennsylvania through 1,368 miles of transmission and distribution mains. Artesian Resources Corporation was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Newark, Delaware.

How the Company Makes Money

Artesian Resources primarily makes money by charging customers for regulated utility services—most importantly the sale and delivery of potable water, and in some areas wastewater service. Revenue is largely generated through (1) metered volumetric usage charges (billing based on the quantity of water used), and (2) fixed service charges (recurring monthly or periodic fees tied to being connected to the system, meter size, and/or customer class). Where it provides wastewater services, it similarly earns revenue from customer rates and fees for wastewater collection and treatment. As a regulated utility, its rates and the ability to recover operating costs and earn an allowed return on invested capital are set through oversight and rate proceedings with state utility regulators; this regulatory framework is a central factor influencing earnings and cash flow. Additional revenue can come from utility-related fees such as connection/tap fees and other authorized charges associated with adding new customers or system expansion when permitted by regulators. Information on any significant partnerships is null.

Artesian Resources Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Steady revenue growth and consistent profitability support a solid utility profile. Balance sheet strengthened markedly in 2025 with debt reduced to near zero, but cash-flow history shows multi-year free-cash-flow weakness/volatility despite positive operating cash flow, and 2025 gross margin compressed.

Income Statement

Revenue shows steady expansion from $88.1M (2020) to $112.9M (2025), with consistent profitability. Margins remain strong for a regulated utility profile, with 2025 net profit margin at ~20% and EBIT margin at ~32%. A watch item is 2025 gross margin compression (down to ~37% from ~49% in 2023–2024), even as operating profitability stayed healthy.

Balance Sheet

Leverage improved materially in 2025, with total debt dropping to ~$2.5M and debt-to-equity near zero, versus higher leverage in 2020–2024 (debt-to-equity roughly ~0.75–1.06). Equity and asset base have grown over time, supporting stability. Return on equity is steady in the high-single to ~10% range (2025 ~9%), though the year-over-year debt swing is notable and should be monitored for one-time drivers.

Cash Flow

Operating cash flow is consistently positive and generally covers net income (2025 coverage ~1.20x; 2023–2024 ~1.4x). However, free cash flow was negative for several years (2020–2024), indicating elevated investment spending, before rebounding sharply to positive ~$40.3M in 2025 (free cash flow at ~100% of net income). Overall cash generation is solid, but historical free-cash-flow volatility is the key weakness.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	112.94M	107.95M	98.86M	98.90M	90.86M
Gross Profit	42.01M	53.41M	48.23M	48.27M	45.50M
EBITDA	49.42M	50.12M	42.13M	42.40M	39.92M
Net Income	22.82M	20.39M	16.70M	18.00M	16.83M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	851.23M	798.62M	766.83M	720.30M	625.31M
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	52.00K	1.15M	2.50M	1.31M	92.00K
Total Debt	182.65M	179.11M	181.06M	198.31M	172.03M
Total Liabilities	601.31M	559.43M	536.43M	532.37M	447.30M
Stockholders Equity	249.92M	239.19M	230.40M	187.93M	178.01M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	-18.50M	-9.12M	-30.33M	-24.22M	-9.50M
Operating Cash Flow	40.35M	36.82M	31.85M	24.27M	31.31M
Investing Cash Flow	-58.72M	-45.32M	-62.08M	-54.76M	-40.72M
Financing Cash Flow	17.27M	7.14M	31.42M	31.71M	9.48M

Artesian Resources Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 31.53
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Positive

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For ARTNA, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 31.53 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 33.00, below the 50-day MA of 32.91, and below the 200-day MA of 32.30, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.53 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 33.57 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 10.81 is Positive, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for ARTNA.

Artesian Resources Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
PCYO	74 Outperform	$249.34M	14.74	9.79%	―	-9.25%	12.89%
ARTNA	67 Neutral	$318.90M	14.28	9.26%	3.87%	5.80%	12.33%
MSEX	67 Neutral	$929.25M	26.96	9.08%	2.67%	6.24%	3.35%
Sector *	66 Neutral	$17.65B	18.10	5.60%	3.62%	6.62%	11.55%
YORW	58 Neutral	$431.58M	22.20	8.49%	2.68%	3.63%	-5.82%
CDZI	55 Neutral	$382.31M	-13.71	-136.36%	―	188.33%	4.12%
GWRS	54 Neutral	$215.10M	77.24	3.58%	3.56%	7.06%	-38.94%