Copeland Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 592,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,164 shares during the period. Chesapeake Utilities accounts for about 1.3% of Copeland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $73,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 180.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 115 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth $99,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 81.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chesapeake Utilities

In other news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 8,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $949,702.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:CPK opened at $120.36 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a twelve month low of $83.79 and a twelve month high of $125.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32 and a beta of 0.61.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.02). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.61% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The company had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.78%.

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.