Jane Street Group LLC Has $316,000 Stock Position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Jane Street Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 93.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 38,424 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $791,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,110,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,216,000. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

CPK opened at $121.73 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 $102.64 and a 12-month high of $136.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $128.00 and a 200-day moving average of $125.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.69 and a beta of 0.71.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($0.06). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. The company had revenue of $298.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.685 dividend. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 50.65%.

Chesapeake Utilities Company Profile

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.