Barclays PLC Acquires 28,673 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 342.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,673 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $4,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $390,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,095,000 after purchasing an additional 4,262 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,222,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $152,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,068 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 33,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,116,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter valued at about $804,000. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CPK shares. StockNews.com raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:CPK opened at $119.56 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a twelve month low of $98.25 and a twelve month high of $134.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $125.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.48.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.93%.

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.