Deutsche Bank AG Has $3.66 Million Stock Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,352 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.13% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $3,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 281,910 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,210,000 after buying an additional 23,160 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 10,193 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at $550,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 318.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 11,692 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,413,000 after buying an additional 8,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 13,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,598,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CPK. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Chesapeake Utilities to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 0.9%

CPK traded up $1.08 during trading on Monday, reaching $122.11. 65,587 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 106,008. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.64 and a fifty-two week high of $136.73. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $128.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.06. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77 and a beta of 0.71. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($0.06). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. The company had revenue of $298.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.685 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. 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. Chesapeake Utilities's payout ratio 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.