State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $1.85 Million Stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,713 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.08% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $1,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CPK. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 180.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 17.7% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 81.8% during the second quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 10.2% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE CPK opened at $124.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 0.60. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a twelve month low of $83.79 and a twelve month high of $125.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.70 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 53.78%.

Insider Activity at Chesapeake Utilities

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.56, for a total transaction of $1,094,037.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $949,702.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barclays increased their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.20.

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.