Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 603 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.06% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $1,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 11.6% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,095,000 after acquiring an additional 4,262 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 5.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 287,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,760,000 after buying an additional 14,430 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $767,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of CPK stock opened at $128.23 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $124.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.76. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.01 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12 month low of $98.32 and a 12 month high of $134.20.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 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 the consensus estimate of $237.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

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.