Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Shares Sold by Dana Investment Advisors Inc.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. owned 0.05% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $1,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,222,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $152,513,000 after acquiring an additional 11,068 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 516,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,157,000 after acquiring an additional 8,358 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 495,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,090,000 after acquiring an additional 12,889 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 287,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,760,000 after acquiring an additional 14,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 269,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,751,000 after acquiring an additional 10,822 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $130.37 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $122.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44 and a beta of 0.60. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1-year low of $98.32 and a 1-year high of $134.20.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $215.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $237.84 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 9.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.