Boston Trust Walden Corp Grows Position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 300,552 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,147 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 1.35% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $37,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CPK. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 180.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 633 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the third quarter valued at $99,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 81.8% during the second quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 10.2% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barclays raised their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.56, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $120.65. The stock had a trading volume of 72,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 114,266. The company has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35 and a beta of 0.61. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12-month low of $83.79 and a 12-month high of $125.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $119.98 and a 200-day moving average of $113.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Chesapeake Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.78%.

About Chesapeake Utilities

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.