GSA Capital Partners LLP Purchases New Shares in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK)

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,353,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CPK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 worth $234,761,000 after acquiring an additional 44,692 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 518,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,556,000 after acquiring an additional 23,053 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% during 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 29,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 23,160 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $119.36. The company had a trading volume of 127,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,882. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.79. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.28 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $298.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.45 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. 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 is 50.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on CPK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd.

About Chesapeake Utilities

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.