Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Raises Dividend to $0.64 Per Share

Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 9th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.64 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59.

Chesapeake Utilities has increased its dividend payment by an average of 10.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 20 years. Chesapeake Utilities has a payout ratio of 37.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Chesapeake Utilities to earn $6.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.7%.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $111.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.94 and a 200 day moving average of $101.29. Chesapeake Utilities has a 52 week low of $83.79 and a 52 week high of $132.91.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $245.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.16 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 13.01%. Chesapeake Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.