LADENBURG THALM/SH SH Upgrades Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) to “Strong-Buy”

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) was upgraded by equities researchers at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

CPK opened at $130.49 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $125.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.05. Chesapeake Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $98.32 and a fifty-two week high of $134.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47 and a beta of 0.66.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $215.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $237.84 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,934,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $234,761,000 after acquiring an additional 44,692 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,222,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $152,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,068 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 516,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,157,000 after purchasing an additional 8,358 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 495,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,090,000 after purchasing an additional 12,889 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 464,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,389,000 after buying an additional 13,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

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.