Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases 7,500 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 40.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.12% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $2,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 489,433 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,979,000 after acquiring an additional 19,100 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 101,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.8% during the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 29,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,130,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the second quarter worth about $328,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 12.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 30,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,232,000 after buying an additional 3,409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.20.

Insider Activity at Chesapeake Utilities

In related news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.56, for a total value of $1,094,037.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $949,702.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of CPK traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $123.32. The company had a trading volume of 66,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,113. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $118.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.52. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1-year low of $83.79 and a 1-year high of $125.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91 and a beta of 0.60.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.02). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The company had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Chesapeake Utilities's payout ratio is currently 53.78%.

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.