Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Decreases Stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 215,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 35,000 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.94% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $26,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 342.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,600,000 after buying an additional 28,673 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 5.7% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 23,473 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter worth approximately $182,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 5.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 287,993 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,760,000 after purchasing an additional 14,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 2,018.2% in 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 in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CPK. StockNews.com cut Chesapeake Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Chesapeake Utilities to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $122.67.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Down 0.0 %

CPK traded down $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $131.61. The company had a trading volume of 25,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,343. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $128.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.39. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12-month low of $102.64 and a 12-month high of $136.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70 and a beta of 0.66.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $237.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

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.