Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Position Increased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 7.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,403 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $5,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 6.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,859,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $199,471,000 after acquiring an additional 118,878 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 628,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,392,000 after purchasing an additional 4,208 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 489,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,979,000 after purchasing an additional 19,100 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 28.4% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 428,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,014,000 after purchasing an additional 94,980 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 61.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 275,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,529,000 after buying an additional 104,850 shares during the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.56, for a total value of $1,094,037.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at $949,702.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barclays raised their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.20.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $122.52 on Thursday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12-month low of $83.79 and a 12-month high of $125.34. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 53.78%.

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.