Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK Stake Decreased by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 474,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,318 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 1.98% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $60,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 115,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,552,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 21,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.4% during the first quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 25,355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,204,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 47,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,060,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Down 0.1%

CPK stock opened at $133.21 on Monday. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 12 month low of $118.83 and a 12 month high of $140.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.09. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 15.11%.The business had revenue of $353.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $339.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.735 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chesapeake Utilities

In related news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.12, for a total transaction of $1,261,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,945,686.12. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.37, for a total transaction of $254,740.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,611,485.24. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CPK. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays set a $142.00 price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.00.

About Chesapeake Utilities

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE: CPK) is a diversified energy services holding company headquartered in Dover, Delaware. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company engages in natural gas distribution, transmission and storage; propane distribution; wholesale propane supply; and contract compression and natural gas liquids processing. Its core mission is to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective energy solutions to residential, commercial and industrial customers across multiple U.S.