COMMON STOCK OFFERING

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

COMMON STOCK OFFERING [Abstract]

COMMON STOCK OFFERING

NOTE 15 – COMMON STOCK OFFERING

On May 23, 2023, the Company completed the sale of 695,650 shares of its Class A Non-Voting Stock, par value $1.00 per share, at a price to the public of $50 per share.  The net proceeds to the Company from the offering, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering costs, were approximately $33.0 million.  The Company also granted the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 104,348 shares of Class A Non-Voting Stock at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount.  On June 16, 2023, the underwriter exercised its over-allotment option to purchase 67,689 shares of Class A Non-Voting Stock at the public offering price.  The net proceeds to the Company resulting from the exercise of the over-allotment option, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering costs, were approximately $3.2 million.  All of the shares of Class A Non-Voting Stock sold in the offering were offered by the Company.

The proceeds from both the initial offering and the over-allotment option were used to repay short-term borrowings through our lines of credit with Citizens Bank and CoBank, incurred primarily to finance capital expenditures, including investment in utility plant and equipment, and other general corporate purposes.