Legal & General Group Plc Invests $16.43 Million in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 134,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,427,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 54.4% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 202,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,234,000 after acquiring an additional 71,242 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,020,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $252,033,000 after purchasing an additional 49,789 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 1st quarter worth $1,219,000. Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter worth $1,834,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 554,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,217,000 after purchasing an additional 6,808 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $132.51 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.68. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.88 and a 1 year high of $140.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $131.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $201.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.91 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 14th will be given a $0.735 dividend. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 46.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on CPK. Wall Street Zen lowered Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.00.

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.