Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $2.27 Million Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,677 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,340 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.08% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $2,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 495,178 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,090,000 after purchasing an additional 12,889 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% during 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. increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 317,752 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,559,000 after buying an additional 29,759 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Down 2.6 %

Chesapeake Utilities stock traded down $3.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $126.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 120,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,258. The firm's 50 day moving average is $129.54 and its 200 day moving average is $125.91. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71 and a beta of 0.71. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 52-week low of $102.64 and a 52-week high of $136.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $298.70 million during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.685 dividend. This is an increase from Chesapeake Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Chesapeake Utilities's dividend payout ratio is 47.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CPK. StockNews.com lowered Chesapeake Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced 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 report on Tuesday, April 29th. One equities research 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 a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $122.67.

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.