Hennessy Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 17.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $2,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CPK. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 55,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,462,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $293,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 33.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,917,000 after purchasing an additional 23,048 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 90,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,848,000 after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:CPK traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $106.81. The company had a trading volume of 39,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 117,601. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1-year low of $83.79 and a 1-year high of $124.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $108.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $245.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.16 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 13.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Barclays initiated coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.80.

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.