Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 152 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $1,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 118,878 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 274,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,142,000 after purchasing an additional 118,561 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 61.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 275,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,529,000 after purchasing an additional 104,850 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 170.5% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 124,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,245,000 after buying an additional 78,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 592,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,567,000 after buying an additional 51,164 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CPK shares. StockNews.com upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted 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 report on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:CPK opened at $130.73 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $90.80 and a 52-week high of $134.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $122.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.31. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48 and a beta of 0.61.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 51.93%.

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.