Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 22,924 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.46% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $13,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter worth approximately $99,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 504.8% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 1,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter valued at $182,000. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CPK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of CPK opened at $120.83 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a one year low of $98.25 and a one year high of $134.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $125.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.89. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 0.64.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 51.93%.

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.