Magellan Asset Management Ltd Sells 299 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lowered its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 299 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned 0.05% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $1,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,934,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $234,761,000 after purchasing an additional 44,692 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,110,000. FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $4,632,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 317,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,559,000 after buying an additional 29,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 342.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,600,000 after purchasing an additional 28,673 shares during the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 0.2 %

CPK opened at $129.85 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $125.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.94. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 52 week low of $98.32 and a 52 week high of $134.20. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $215.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.84 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.58%.

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.