Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) Receives $128.50 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $128.50.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CPK shares. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays set a $128.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Beth W. Cooper sold 5,000 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.15, for a total transaction of $660,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 90,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,987,722.95. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the first quarter worth $26,299,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 92.5% in the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 270,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,453,000 after purchasing an additional 130,071 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the first quarter worth $12,967,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 18.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 573,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,982,000 after purchasing an additional 87,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the first quarter worth $10,467,000. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

CPK opened at $131.46 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $129.49 and its 200 day moving average is $126.09. Chesapeake Utilities has a 12-month low of $115.12 and a 12-month high of $140.59.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $192.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.45 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.685 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.84%.

About Chesapeake Utilities

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.