Federated Hermes Inc. Has $854,000 Position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CPK. Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on CPK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:CPK opened at $107.30 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $103.84 and a 200-day moving average of $100.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a twelve month low of $83.79 and a twelve month high of $132.91.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.89%.

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.