Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $128.54 and last traded at $128.35, with a volume of 15019 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $126.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CPK shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $121.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 6.8% during the 1st 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 period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 274,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,142,000 after acquiring an additional 118,561 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 61.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 275,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,529,000 after acquiring an additional 104,850 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 170.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 124,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,245,000 after buying an additional 78,613 shares during the period. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 166.9% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 92,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,957,000 after buying an additional 58,019 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

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.