Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (CPK) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 16th

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of 0.685 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, April 6th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th.

Chesapeake Utilities has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 22 consecutive years. Chesapeake Utilities has a payout ratio of 40.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Chesapeake Utilities to earn $6.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.74 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.8%.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $130.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.45. Chesapeake Utilities has a one year low of $115.24 and a one year high of $140.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $129.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.09.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by ($0.22). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The company had revenue of $258.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. Analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 7,500 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total value of $950,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 56,916 shares in the company, valued at $7,213,533.84. The trade was a 11.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 17,500 shares of company stock worth $2,218,185 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

About Chesapeake Utilities

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.