Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 1,346 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 50.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CPK. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $14,227,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,755,000. Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 83.7% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 81,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,577,000 after purchasing an additional 37,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 148.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 61,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,040,000 after purchasing an additional 36,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,917,000 after buying an additional 23,048 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $110.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1-year low of $83.79 and a 1-year high of $132.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $103.98 and its 200 day moving average is $100.66.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $185.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.60 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 10.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.89%.

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.