Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $1.83 Million Position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 12.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,503 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $1,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 132,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,183,000 after purchasing an additional 19,514 shares during the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 67,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,247,000 after purchasing an additional 13,053 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 12,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

CPK traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $106.86. The stock had a trading volume of 45,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 123,397. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50 and a beta of 0.60. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12 month low of $83.79 and a 12 month high of $124.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.25.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.