Centiva Capital LP Acquires New Shares in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 592,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,567,000 after buying an additional 51,164 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 489,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,979,000 after purchasing an additional 19,100 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 300,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,320,000 after purchasing an additional 26,147 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,168,000 after purchasing an additional 7,666 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 170.5% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 124,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,245,000 after purchasing an additional 78,613 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CPK shares. Barclays lifted 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. StockNews.com upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $127.83 on Tuesday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1 year low of $98.25 and a 1 year high of $134.20. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.65.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is 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.