StockNews.com Downgrades Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Separately, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of CPK opened at $126.92 on Thursday. Chesapeake Utilities has a twelve month low of $98.32 and a twelve month high of $134.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.75 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.26.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. The firm had revenue of $215.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $237.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 51.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 587.1% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2,018.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 805.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.