Short Interest in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Declines By 7.0%

Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) saw a large decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 331,500 shares, a decrease of 7.0% from the November 15th total of 356,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 98,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 17.7% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter worth $99,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 81.8% in the second quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 64.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

CPK traded down $0.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $126.13. 114,697 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 111,879. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38. Chesapeake Utilities has a 12-month low of $98.25 and a 12-month high of $134.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.20. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84 and a beta of 0.64.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.93%.

Chesapeake Utilities Company 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.