Jennison Associates LLC Sells 4,318 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Jennison Associates LLC lowered its position in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 0.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 474,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,318 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $60,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPK. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 94.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 292.9% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 133.0% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of CPK stock opened at $133.21 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 0.69. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.83 and a 1 year high of $140.59. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.735 per share. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 47.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.12, for a total value of $1,261,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 63,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,945,686.12. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,611,485.24. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Chesapeake Utilities Profile

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.