Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Separately, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $123.19 on Wednesday. Chesapeake Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $98.25 and a fifty-two week high of $134.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.51. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Institutional Trading of Chesapeake Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,632,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 110,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,402,000 after acquiring an additional 4,632 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $767,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

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.