Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the four ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $111.20.

Separately, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th.

Insider Transactions at Chesapeake Utilities

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.56, for a total value of $1,094,037.04. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $949,702.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 180.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 81.8% in the 2nd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 1,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of CPK opened at $123.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91 and a beta of 0.60. Chesapeake Utilities has a 1 year low of $83.79 and a 1 year high of $125.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $118.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.70 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 13.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.78%.

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.