Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Decreases Stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lessened its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 69.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 120,684 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $6,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,934,574 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $234,761,000 after buying an additional 44,692 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 495,178 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,090,000 after buying an additional 12,889 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 464,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $56,389,000 after buying an additional 13,742 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 317,752 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,559,000 after buying an additional 29,759 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 281,910 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,210,000 after acquiring an additional 23,160 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company's stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 2.2%

Chesapeake Utilities stock traded down $2.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $116.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 101,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,322. The stock has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.30 and a 200-day moving average of $125.95. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a one year low of $102.64 and a one year 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.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.28 by ($0.06). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 9.08%. The business had revenue of $298.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.685 per share. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Chesapeake Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CPK. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. StockNews.com raised Chesapeake Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Chesapeake Utilities to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

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.