Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 13,619.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 147,638 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.65% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $19,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CPK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% in 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 464,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,389,000 after purchasing an additional 13,742 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 10.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 269,886 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,751,000 after buying an additional 10,822 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company's stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:CPK traded down $0.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $118.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 57,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,276. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.64 and a fifty-two week high of $136.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $127.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.67. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06 and a beta of 0.71.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.685 per share. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Chesapeake Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

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.