Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 299 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.15% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $4,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 342.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,600,000 after acquiring an additional 28,673 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 23,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $182,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 287,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,760,000 after buying an additional 14,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 2,018.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CPK. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Chesapeake Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $133.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $128.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.99. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1-year low of $102.64 and a 1-year high of $136.73.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.58%.

Chesapeake Utilities 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.