Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $6.59 Million Stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 54,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,215 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $6,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 11.6% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,095,000 after buying an additional 4,262 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 489,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,979,000 after acquiring an additional 19,100 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 5.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 287,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,760,000 after acquiring an additional 14,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the third quarter worth $966,000. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CPK. Guggenheim raised their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

CPK stock opened at $121.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.92. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1-year low of $98.25 and a 1-year high of $134.20.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $160.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.80 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 51.93%.

Chesapeake Utilities Company 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.