Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 9,350 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,350 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.35% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $9,651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CPK shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of CPK stock opened at $125.55 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $123.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.13. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 52 week low of $98.32 and a 52 week high of $134.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 25.47 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. The company had revenue of $215.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $237.84 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

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.