HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 130 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 489,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,979,000 after acquiring an additional 19,100 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 53,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,596,000 after purchasing an additional 5,487 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the second quarter valued at about $3,834,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the third quarter worth about $966,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 168.0% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 6,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $119.11 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $125.11 and its 200-day moving average is $118.42. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.16 and a beta of 0.64.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim upped their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

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.