Short Interest in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Rises By 26.9%

Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 459,500 shares, a growth of 26.9% from the May 31st total of 362,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 89,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

CPK opened at $106.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.38. Chesapeake Utilities has a 12-month low of $83.79 and a 12-month high of $124.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $108.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.19.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $245.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.16 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.64 dividend. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $1,060,000. Strs Ohio boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 83.7% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 81,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,577,000 after purchasing an additional 37,000 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $35,265,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $1,078,000. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 122,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,921,000 after buying an additional 12,764 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CPK shares. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.80.

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.