Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Stock Position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 857 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $2,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,859,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $199,471,000 after purchasing an additional 118,878 shares in the last quarter. American International Group Inc. grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 11,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 61.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 275,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,529,000 after buying an additional 104,850 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 6,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of CPK opened at $131.78 on Thursday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 52-week low of $91.17 and a 52-week high of $134.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.73 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $122.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.44.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

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.