Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Short Interest Update

Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 343,200 shares, a decrease of 8.0% from the October 15th total of 373,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 89,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK traded up $2.37 during trading on Monday, hitting $129.34. The company had a trading volume of 95,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 113,134. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24 and a beta of 0.61. Chesapeake Utilities has a 12 month low of $90.21 and a 12 month high of $129.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 51.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CPK. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 33.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 57,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,071,000 after purchasing an additional 14,417 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 76.1% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 274,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,142,000 after purchasing an additional 118,561 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the first quarter valued at approximately $583,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 6.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,859,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $199,471,000 after acquiring an additional 118,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 61.5% during 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. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

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.