Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) SVP Sells $254,740.00 in Stock

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) SVP Kevin Webber sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.37, for a total transaction of $254,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,652 shares in the company, valued at $1,611,485.24. This trade represents a 13.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CPK opened at $126.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $127.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.15. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a twelve month low of $117.64 and a twelve month high of $140.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 0.71.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.09. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.11% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The firm had revenue of $353.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $339.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.735 dividend. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,020,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $252,033,000 after acquiring an additional 49,789 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,257,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $152,023,000 after acquiring an additional 9,556 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 952,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,231,000 after acquiring an additional 205,742 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 590,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,574,000 after acquiring an additional 16,993 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 554,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,217,000 after acquiring an additional 6,808 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.00.

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.