Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $532,000 Stock Position in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,095,000 after purchasing an additional 4,262 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 5.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 287,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,760,000 after buying an additional 14,430 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $767,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CPK has been the topic of a number of research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Chesapeake Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE CPK opened at $124.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.34 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a twelve month low of $98.32 and a twelve month high of $134.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.11.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $215.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.84 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 9.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.58%.

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.