Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 709 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,060,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 122,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,921,000 after purchasing an additional 12,764 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,048,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,227,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 193,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,926,000 after purchasing an additional 10,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

NYSE CPK opened at $102.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12 month low of $83.79 and a 12 month high of $132.91. The company’s 50 day moving average is $103.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.74. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67 and a beta of 0.60.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.11. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 10.19%. The business had revenue of $185.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.00.

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.