Cox Capital Mgt LLC Lowers Stock Position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Cox Capital Mgt LLC lessened its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 127 shares during the period. Cox Capital Mgt LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $1,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 592,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,567,000 after purchasing an additional 51,164 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 342.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,600,000 after buying an additional 28,673 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% in 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 489,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,979,000 after acquiring an additional 19,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the third quarter worth approximately $1,826,000. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $119.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $125.02 and its 200 day moving average is $120.15. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 52 week low of $98.25 and a 52 week high of $134.20.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.