Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.14 Million in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,141,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.06% of Chesapeake Utilities as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CPK. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the third quarter valued at approximately $256,000. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Utilities presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

CPK traded up $1.22 on Wednesday, hitting $106.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 148,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,494. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12 month low of $83.79 and a 12 month high of $132.91. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $103.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.07.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.11. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 13.01%. The firm had revenue of $185.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities's payout ratio is 49.89%.

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.