Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Position Boosted by State Street Corp

State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,222,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,068 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned about 5.37% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $152,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CPK. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 76.1% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 274,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,142,000 after acquiring an additional 118,561 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 170.5% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 124,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,245,000 after acquiring an additional 78,613 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 592,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,567,000 after acquiring an additional 51,164 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the second quarter worth about $3,834,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 489,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,979,000 after acquiring an additional 19,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CPK opened at $127.15 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $124.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.05. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 52 week low of $98.25 and a 52 week high of $134.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CPK shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

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.