Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $1.49 Million Stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $1,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CPK. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2,018.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $182,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:CPK opened at $126.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $122.24 and its 200 day moving average is $122.41. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12 month low of $98.32 and a 12 month high of $134.20.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $215.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $237.84 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

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.