Atom Investors LP Reduces Position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Atom Investors LP cut its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 19.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 722 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CPK. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 274,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,142,000 after purchasing an additional 118,561 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 170.5% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 124,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,245,000 after buying an additional 78,613 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 592,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,567,000 after buying an additional 51,164 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,834,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 489,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,979,000 after buying an additional 19,100 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:CPK opened at $130.30 on Thursday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a one year low of $98.22 and a one year high of $134.20. 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 $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.12.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

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.