Raymond James & Associates Sells 189 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Raymond James & Associates cut its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.06% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $1,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CPK. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth $142,000. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $104.81 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 52-week low of $83.79 and a 52-week high of $132.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.48.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.11. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 13.01%. The business had revenue of $185.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $234.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 49.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Company 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.