Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $59.64 Million Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 491,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,122 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.16% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $59,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CPK. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $791,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CPK. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.67.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 0.4 %

CPK stock opened at $132.14 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $128.99 and a 200-day moving average of $125.48. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.64 and a fifty-two week high of $136.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.80 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 9.08%. The business had revenue of $215.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 48.58%.

About Chesapeake Utilities

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.