Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Buys Shares of 2,274 Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CPK. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 126.1% during 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 during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the third quarter worth $59,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 3,317.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CPK opened at $105.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $103.79 and its 200 day moving average is $100.16. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1 year low of $83.79 and a 1 year high of $132.91.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $185.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $234.60 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 10.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CPK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.00.

About Chesapeake Utilities

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.