Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the four analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $109.80.

Several research firms recently issued reports on CPK. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com cut Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 6,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 61.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 275,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,529,000 after acquiring an additional 104,850 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 166.9% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 92,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,957,000 after acquiring an additional 58,019 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 5,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $105.04 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.38. Chesapeake Utilities has a one year low of $83.79 and a one year high of $126.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.04.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $245.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.16 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.78%.

Chesapeake Utilities Company Profile

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.