Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys Shares of 3,714 Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $966,000. Curi RMB Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.0% in the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 106,915 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares during the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Versor Investments LP raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 168.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 6,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $337,000. 83.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CPK opened at $131.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75 and a beta of 0.61. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1-year low of $91.45 and a 1-year high of $134.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPK has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.