Capula Management Ltd Buys New Position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Capula Management Ltd purchased a new position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 1,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CPK. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:CPK opened at $124.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.34 and a beta of 0.66. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a fifty-two week low of $98.32 and a fifty-two week high of $134.86. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $125.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.11.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $215.00 million for 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 posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

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.