First Manhattan CO. LLC. Trims Position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. decreased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,273 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $4,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 30,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,662,000 after purchasing an additional 5,352 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 281,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,210,000 after buying an additional 23,160 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 10,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $550,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 318.2% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 11,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,413,000 after acquiring an additional 8,896 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CPK shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Utilities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.67.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE:CPK opened at $126.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.54 and a 200 day moving average of $125.91. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $102.64 and a 52 week high of $136.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71 and a beta of 0.71.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($0.06). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. The business had revenue of $298.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.685 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 47.32%.

Chesapeake Utilities 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.