Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Shares Purchased by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 83.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,000 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned 0.46% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $8,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,060,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 122,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,921,000 after buying an additional 12,764 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,048,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $14,227,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 5.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 193,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,926,000 after acquiring an additional 10,416 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CPK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

CPK stock opened at $100.75 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $103.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a one year low of $83.79 and a one year high of $132.91.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.11. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 10.19%. The firm had revenue of $185.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.89%.

Chesapeake Utilities Profile

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation operates as an energy delivery company. The company operates through two segments, Regulated Energy and Unregulated Energy. The Regulated Energy segment natural gas distribution operations in central and southern Delaware, Maryland's eastern shore, and Florida; regulated natural gas transmission in the Delmarva Peninsula, Ohio, and Florida; and regulated electric distribution in northeast and northwest Florida.