Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,661 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK – Get Rating) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 108,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,661 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $12,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 10,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 173.2% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 3,141 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 5,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 42,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,064,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 10,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 3,286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 540 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total value of $69,660.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,437. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Chesapeake Utilities news, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total value of $69,660.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,437. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John R. Schimkaitis sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.02, for a total value of $317,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,442 shares in the company, valued at $9,836,682.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,100 shares of company stock valued at $652,950 over the last ninety days. 2.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $126.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $126.91 and its 200 day moving average is $122.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.32 and a beta of 0.60. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a one year low of $105.79 and a one year high of $138.49.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $187.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.00 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 13.20%. As a group, research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 42.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CPK. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 14th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 8th.

Chesapeake Utilities Profile

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Chesapeake Utilities Corp. engages in the distribution and transmission of natural gas, propane and electricity, and the generation of electricity and steam. It operates through the following segments: Regulated Energy and Unregulated Energy. The Regulated Energy segment distributes and transmits gas, natural gas, and electricity.