Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Short Interest Up 7.2% in September

Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) saw a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 548,600 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the August 31st total of 511,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 119,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Insider Transactions at Chesapeake Utilities

In related news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.56, for a total value of $1,094,037.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $949,702.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,740,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $183,809,000 after acquiring an additional 334,088 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 136.1% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 234,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,823,000 after purchasing an additional 135,462 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 76.1% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 274,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,142,000 after buying an additional 118,561 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 61.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 275,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,529,000 after acquiring an additional 104,850 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 428,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,014,000 after acquiring an additional 94,980 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE CPK opened at $123.30 on Monday. Chesapeake Utilities has a 52-week low of $83.79 and a 52-week high of $125.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $118.38 and a 200-day moving average of $111.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 53.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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