Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 334,088 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,740,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 334,088 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 7.82% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $183,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 628,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,392,000 after buying an additional 4,208 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 455,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,164,000 after acquiring an additional 9,040 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $35,265,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 252,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,705,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 136.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 234,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,823,000 after purchasing an additional 135,462 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $107.01 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $108.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.24. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 52 week low of $83.79 and a 52 week high of $124.72. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $245.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CPK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Barclays started coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Utilities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.80.

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.