Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Position Trimmed by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 17.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 105,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 22,924 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $13,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 19.2% in 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. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter valued at about $99,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 504.8% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $182,000. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CPK shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of CPK stock opened at $120.83 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 12 month low of $98.25 and a 12 month high of $134.20. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business’s 50 day moving average is $125.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.89.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 51.93%.

About Chesapeake Utilities

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.