Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 5,202 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 295,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,202 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 1.30% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $35,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,095,000 after purchasing an additional 4,262 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 5.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 287,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,760,000 after buying an additional 14,430 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 11.5% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 53,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,596,000 after buying an additional 5,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth about $966,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:CPK opened at $123.05 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12-month low of $98.25 and a 12-month high of $134.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $123.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96 and a beta of 0.65.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.11. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 9.08%. The business had revenue of $160.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.93%.

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.