Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 182 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 587.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $26,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CPK. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter worth $260,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,285,000 after buying an additional 7,585 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 43,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,249,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 20,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,466,000 after acquiring an additional 5,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 5,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.67.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CPK opened at $135.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a twelve month low of $102.64 and a twelve month high of $136.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $127.29 and its 200 day moving average is $124.65. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 27.42 and a beta of 0.66.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $215.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $237.84 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

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.