Private Advisor Group LLC Takes Position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 4,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays raised their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

CPK stock opened at $124.63 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $120.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.61. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1 year low of $83.79 and a 1 year high of $128.13.

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). The firm 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%. Chesapeake Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $949,702.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

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.