Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $3,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CPK. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $5,110,000. FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter worth about $4,632,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 342.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,600,000 after acquiring an additional 28,673 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 61,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,644,000 after acquiring an additional 14,607 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 287,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,760,000 after acquiring an additional 14,430 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:CPK opened at $125.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $124.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.47. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12 month low of $98.32 and a 12 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.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CPK. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

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.