Natixis Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 10,022 Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 10,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,216,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 2,018.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 159.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $182,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 2,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of CPK opened at $124.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1-year low of $98.32 and a 1-year high of $134.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.27 and a beta of 0.60.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 9.08%. The company had revenue of $215.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

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.