Rhumbline Advisers Sells 2,776 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,776 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.29% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $8,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CPK. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 12,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $542,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $767,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 110,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,402,000 after purchasing an additional 4,632 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $120.44 on Wednesday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a twelve month low of $102.64 and a twelve month high of $136.73. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.43 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $126.90 and a 200 day moving average of $125.49. 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 (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.22 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $298.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.685 dividend. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 50.65%.

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.