Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CPK. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down from $141.00) on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

CPK stock opened at $130.17 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $129.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.22. Chesapeake Utilities has a 52-week low of $115.24 and a 52-week high of $140.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77 and a beta of 0.78.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.16 by ($0.22). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 15.09%.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 previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.685 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 45.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,213,533.84. This trade represents a 11.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 12,500 shares of company stock worth $1,584,585 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

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

Chesapeake Utilities Company 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.