Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $140.83 and last traded at $139.83, with a volume of 21788 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $135.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays set a $142.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.60. 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 $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29 and a beta of 0.69.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $353.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $339.86 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 15.11%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.735 dividend. This is an increase from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.12%.

Insider Activity at Chesapeake Utilities

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.12, for a total transaction of $1,261,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 63,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,945,686.12. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.37, for a total value of $254,740.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,611,485.24. This trade represents a 13.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chesapeake Utilities

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 831.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 511,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,884,000 after buying an additional 456,497 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 27.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 952,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $128,231,000 after acquiring an additional 205,742 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter valued at about $19,604,000. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 127.6% in the third quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 169,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,790,000 after purchasing an additional 94,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 202,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,234,000 after purchasing an additional 71,242 shares during the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.