Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases 2,439 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 35,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,439 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $3,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 126.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on CPK shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $105.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.16. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12 month low of $83.79 and a 12 month high of $132.91.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $185.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.60 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 13.01%. Chesapeake Utilities’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.89%.

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.