Jennison Associates LLC Acquires New Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 333,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $35,265,000. Jennison Associates LLC owned 1.88% of Chesapeake Utilities at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3,317.6% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 1,128 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 126.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 50.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $525,000. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $106.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60 and a beta of 0.60. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1 year low of $83.79 and a 1 year high of $132.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.11. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 10.19%. The company had revenue of $185.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $234.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CPK. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.00.

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.