Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Shares Sold by Fruth Investment Management

Fruth Investment Management reduced its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $2,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPK. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,917,000 after acquiring an additional 23,048 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 90,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,848,000 after acquiring an additional 3,885 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,114,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 252,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,705,000 after acquiring an additional 936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 25,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,461,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

CPK stock traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $107.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 68,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,885. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.79 and a fifty-two week high of $124.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $108.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.24.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.80.

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.