Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 936 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $1,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 587.1% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 2,018.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 159.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 1.3 %

CPK stock opened at $135.17 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12 month low of $100.93 and a 12 month high of $136.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.55. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 27.42 and a beta of 0.66. 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 (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. The company had revenue of $215.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $237.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CPK shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Chesapeake Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.67.

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.