Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Lowers Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,886 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.19% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $5,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2,018.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 159.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $182,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CPK. StockNews.com lowered Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CPK opened at $127.24 on Wednesday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a fifty-two week low of $98.32 and a fifty-two week high of $134.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

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.