Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:CPK opened at $121.17 on Tuesday. Chesapeake Utilities has a 1-year low of $98.25 and a 1-year high of $134.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $124.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.30. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58 and a beta of 0.65.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $160.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.80 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,222,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $152,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,068 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 592,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,567,000 after buying an additional 51,164 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 516,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,157,000 after purchasing an additional 8,358 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 495,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,090,000 after buying an additional 12,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 300,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,320,000 after purchasing an additional 26,147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.