Inspire Advisors LLC Takes Position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CPK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,740,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $183,809,000 after purchasing an additional 334,088 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 76.1% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 274,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,142,000 after acquiring an additional 118,561 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 61.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 275,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,529,000 after acquiring an additional 104,850 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 428,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,014,000 after purchasing an additional 94,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 228,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,137,000 after purchasing an additional 85,801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of CPK stock opened at $122.21 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $119.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.80. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12 month low of $83.79 and a 12 month high of $125.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chesapeake Utilities

In other news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at $949,702.28. This trade 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 is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

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.