Stifel Financial Corp Grows Stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 33,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,001 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $4,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 170.5% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 124,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,245,000 after acquiring an additional 78,613 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 592,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,567,000 after purchasing an additional 51,164 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,834,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 300,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,320,000 after buying an additional 26,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 489,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,979,000 after buying an additional 19,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of CPK opened at $127.37 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.20. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a twelve month low of $98.25 and a twelve month high of $134.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84 and a beta of 0.64.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.93%.

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.