Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 384,400 shares, a growth of 16.0% from the November 30th total of 331,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 91,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of CPK opened at $120.83 on Monday. Chesapeake Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $98.25 and a fifty-two week high of $134.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $125.17 and a 200 day moving average of $119.06. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.51 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.

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 paid a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 51.93%.

Institutional Trading of Chesapeake Utilities

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CPK. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter valued at $99,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 504.8% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $182,000. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CPK. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

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.