Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 24.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 281,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 90,266 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.22% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $36,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,934,574 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $234,761,000 after acquiring an additional 44,692 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 13,742 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 317,752 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,559,000 after purchasing an additional 29,759 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 281,910 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,210,000 after purchasing an additional 23,160 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 269,886 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,751,000 after purchasing an additional 10,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CPK. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays cut their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Chesapeake Utilities to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of CPK traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $122.10. 52,862 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 106,631. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.57 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $121.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.63. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 12 month low of $111.00 and a 12 month high of $136.73.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $298.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.45 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The business's revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.685 per share. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Chesapeake Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.65%.

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.