Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Price Target Raised to $129.00 at Guggenheim

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) had its price target raised by Guggenheim from $118.00 to $129.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

CPK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE CPK opened at $133.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $122.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.31. Chesapeake Utilities has a one year low of $90.80 and a one year high of $134.20. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01 and a beta of 0.61.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 6.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,859,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $199,471,000 after buying an additional 118,878 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,222,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $152,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,068 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 592,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,567,000 after purchasing an additional 51,164 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 516,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,157,000 after purchasing an additional 8,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 489,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,979,000 after purchasing an additional 19,100 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.