Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Shares Bought by Spirit of America Management Corp NY

Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 81.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 308.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 126.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.56, for a total transaction of $1,094,037.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $949,702.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.20.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CPK traded up $2.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $116.88. The company had a trading volume of 79,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 120,475. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a twelve month low of $83.79 and a twelve month high of $120.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.13.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.02). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.78%.

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.