Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Stock Holdings Lifted by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 318.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,692 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,896 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.05% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $1,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CPK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,934,574 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $234,761,000 after purchasing an additional 44,692 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $5,110,000. FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,632,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 342.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,600,000 after purchasing an additional 28,673 shares during the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Chesapeake Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Chesapeake Utilities to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Utilities presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

CPK stock traded down $4.69 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $129.36. 23,179 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 103,557. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a one year low of $102.64 and a one year high of $136.73. 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 $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.80.

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). The business had revenue of $298.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.45 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 9.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.685 dividend. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Chesapeake Utilities's payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

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.