Arizona State Retirement System Grows Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK – Get Rating) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,965 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.23% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 0.2 %

Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $123.35 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $126.85 and a 200 day moving average of $122.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 0.60. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12-month low of $105.79 and a 12-month high of $138.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $187.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.00 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 10.57%. As a group, research analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPK has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, insider John R. Schimkaitis sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.02, for a total transaction of $317,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,836,682.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Chesapeake Utilities news, insider John R. Schimkaitis sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.02, for a total transaction of $317,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,836,682.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 2,060 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total transaction of $265,740.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,097. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,100 shares of company stock valued at $652,950. 2.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Chesapeake Utilities Company Profile

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Chesapeake Utilities Corp. engages in the distribution and transmission of natural gas, propane and electricity, and the generation of electricity and steam. It operates through the following segments: Regulated Energy and Unregulated Energy. The Regulated Energy segment distributes and transmits gas, natural gas, and electricity.