Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Buys 1,529 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned 0.23% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $5,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,740,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $183,809,000 after purchasing an additional 334,088 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 136.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 234,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,823,000 after buying an additional 135,462 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 76.1% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 274,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,142,000 after buying an additional 118,561 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 61.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 275,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,529,000 after buying an additional 104,850 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 28.4% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 428,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,014,000 after acquiring an additional 94,980 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.20.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $122.20 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1-year low of $83.79 and a 1-year high of $125.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $117.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.02). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The firm had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.78%.

Insider Transactions at Chesapeake Utilities

In other news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.56, for a total value of $1,094,037.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $949,702.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

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.