Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 264 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 264 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CPK. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 308.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 126.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Utilities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.20.

Insider Activity

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

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CPK opened at $116.88 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1 year low of $83.79 and a 1 year high of $120.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.13.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.02). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.78%.

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.