Creative Planning Sells 281 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Creative Planning trimmed its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 281 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the second quarter worth $238,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 409.4% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 13,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 10,914 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 48,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 24.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.56, for a total value of $1,094,037.04. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $949,702.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $117.63 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $118.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13 and a beta of 0.61. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a twelve month low of $83.79 and a twelve month high of $125.34.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.70 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 13.61%. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barclays increased their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.75.

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.