Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) Stock Has Average Target Price of $144.50 According to Brokerages

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $144.50.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $136.00 target price on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Mizuho set a $150.00 target price on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Huntington initiated coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $128.27 on Tuesday. Chesapeake Utilities has a 52 week low of $118.88 and a 52 week high of $140.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $131.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.48.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.02). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $201.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $198.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 14th were given a $0.7350 dividend. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CPK. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth about $459,185,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the second quarter worth $25,935,000. Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the second quarter worth $25,080,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the second quarter worth $19,744,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the second quarter valued at about $16,427,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

About Chesapeake Utilities

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE: CPK) is a diversified energy delivery company headquartered in Dover, Delaware. Through its operating divisions and subsidiaries, the company provides natural gas distribution, transmission and storage, propane distribution, electric distribution, and other energy-related services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

The company operates regulated natural gas utilities in Delaware, Maryland and Florida, as well as natural gas transmission and pipeline businesses serving portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.