Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Makes New Investment in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 44,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,748,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CPK. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 126.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 60.0% during the 4th 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 period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 3,317.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CPK opened at $106.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $103.69 and its 200-day moving average is $100.07. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1 year low of $83.79 and a 1 year high of $132.91.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $185.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $234.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on CPK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Company 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.