Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 1,122 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 491,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,122 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $59,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CPK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,934,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $234,761,000 after purchasing an additional 44,692 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,110,000. FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,632,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 317,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,559,000 after acquiring an additional 29,759 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $132.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $128.99 and a 200-day moving average of $125.48. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 52-week low of $102.64 and a 52-week high of $136.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 9.08%. The business had revenue of $215.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $237.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Chesapeake Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.67.

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.