Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $5.32 Million Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 23.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,403 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,423 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.18% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $5,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,350 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,516 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,313 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 12,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CPK. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Chesapeake Utilities to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered 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.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $118.63 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06 and a beta of 0.66. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12 month low of $102.64 and a 12 month high of $136.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $127.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.62.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.28 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $298.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.45 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Chesapeake Utilities's payout ratio is 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.