Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 113,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,129 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $15,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 69.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $807,000 after buying an additional 2,579 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 6.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,728,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 79,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,158,000 after buying an additional 2,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 1,714.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,078,000 after buying an additional 44,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 0.7%

Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $128.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $126.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.40. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 52 week low of $115.24 and a 52 week high of $140.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffery S. Sylvester sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.08, for a total transaction of $137,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,633,445.28. This represents a 7.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 7,500 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total transaction of $950,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,213,533.84. The trade was a 11.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,265. Company insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CPK. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Barclays set a $141.00 price target on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.00.

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.