Contrasting Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) and Hong Kong & China Gas (OTCMKTS:HOKCY)

Hong Kong & China Gas (OTCMKTS:HOKCY) and Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

83.1% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Hong Kong & China Gas has a beta of 0.25, suggesting that its share price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chesapeake Utilities has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Hong Kong & China Gas pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Chesapeake Utilities pays an annual dividend of $2.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Chesapeake Utilities pays out 48.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Chesapeake Utilities has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Hong Kong & China Gas and Chesapeake Utilities, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hong Kong & China Gas	0	0	0	0	0.00
Chesapeake Utilities	0	4	0	1	2.40

Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus price target of $135.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.71%. Given Chesapeake Utilities’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Chesapeake Utilities is more favorable than Hong Kong & China Gas.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hong Kong & China Gas and Chesapeake Utilities”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hong Kong & China Gas	$7.11 billion	2.36	$732.21 million	N/A	N/A
Chesapeake Utilities	$85.43 billion	0.04	$118.60 million	$5.65	23.72

Hong Kong & China Gas has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Chesapeake Utilities.

Profitability

This table compares Hong Kong & China Gas and Chesapeake Utilities’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hong Kong & China Gas	N/A	N/A	N/A
Chesapeake Utilities	14.89%	9.20%	3.62%

Summary

Chesapeake Utilities beats Hong Kong & China Gas on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hong Kong & China Gas

The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, produces, distributes, and markets gas, water supply and energy services in Hong Kong and Mainland China. It is involved in the provision of smart energy, piped city-gas, upstream and midstream projects, water supply and wastewater treatment, urban waste resource utilization, and natural gas filling stations, as well as new energy exploration and utilization activities. The company develops new energy projects that are low in emissions and pollution, which includes clean coal chemical business, liquefaction of methane, etc., as well as supplies town gas. It also provides network connectivity, data center, and ICT services, as well as engineering, procurement, and construction services. In addition, the company offers consultancy and engineering contractor services, including utilities installation, infrastructure construction, and civil and building services engineering for public and private projects; and designs and manufactures gas meters and metering systems. Further, it is involved in water supply, and domestic sewage and industrial wastewater treatment activities. Additionally, the company manufactures polyethylene piping and fittings; as well as engages in the software development, solution implementation, and systems integration activities. The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited was founded in 1862 and is headquartered in North Point, Hong Kong.

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. The Unregulated Energy segment engages in the propane operations in the Mid-Atlantic region, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida; unregulated natural gas transmission/supply operation in central and eastern Ohio; generation of electricity and steam; provision of compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and renewable natural gas transportation and pipeline solutions primarily to utilities and pipelines in the United States; and sustainable energy investments. This segment is also involved in the provision of other unregulated services, such as energy-related merchandise sale and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and plumbing and electrical services. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Dover, Delaware.