Fruth Investment Management Trims Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Fruth Investment Management lessened its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management owned about 0.08% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $2,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,740,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $183,809,000 after acquiring an additional 334,088 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew 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 grew 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 stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,265,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on CPK shares. Barclays started coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.80.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $107.01. 68,840 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 130,885. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $108.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48 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 Co. has a one year low of $83.79 and a one year high of $124.72.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

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

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.