Versant Capital Management Inc Buys 222 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 2,018.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $28,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 170.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 124,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,245,000 after purchasing an additional 78,613 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 592,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,567,000 after acquiring an additional 51,164 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 342.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,600,000 after acquiring an additional 28,673 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 300,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,320,000 after acquiring an additional 26,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 489,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,979,000 after purchasing an additional 19,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased 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. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of CPK stock opened at $118.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08 and a beta of 0.65. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12 month low of $98.25 and a 12 month 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $125.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.82.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.93%.

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.