Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 11,528 Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Chesapeake Utilities as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CPK. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $966,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $461,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $481,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,168,000 after buying an additional 7,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 12.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE CPK opened at $125.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.47. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12-month low of $98.32 and a 12-month high of $134.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49 and a beta of 0.60.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. The business had revenue of $215.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $237.84 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

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.