Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Position Trimmed by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 267 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned 0.06% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $1,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 6.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,859,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $199,471,000 after purchasing an additional 118,878 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 592,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,567,000 after buying an additional 51,164 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 489,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,979,000 after acquiring an additional 19,100 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 28.4% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 428,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,014,000 after acquiring an additional 94,980 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 300,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,320,000 after acquiring an additional 26,147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of CPK opened at $117.50 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $120.44 and its 200-day moving average is $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11 and a beta of 0.61. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.79 and a fifty-two week high of $125.34.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid 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 (DPR) is currently 54.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.56, for a total transaction of $1,094,037.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at $949,702.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

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.