Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 269,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,822 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $32,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2,018.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 19.2% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 159.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at $182,000. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPK has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 1.1 %

Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $127.08 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $123.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.31. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1-year low of $98.32 and a 1-year high of $134.20.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $215.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $237.84 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Chesapeake Utilities 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.