Tradewinds Capital Management LLC Buys 100 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,740,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $183,809,000 after purchasing an additional 334,088 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 628,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,392,000 after buying an additional 4,208 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 455,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,164,000 after buying an additional 9,040 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter worth $35,265,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 252,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,705,000 after buying an additional 936 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $107.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 37,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 123,760. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $108.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.23. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12-month low of $83.79 and a 12-month high of $124.72. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.46.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $245.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 53.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.80.

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.