Analysts Set Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) PT at $111.20

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the four brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat 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 price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $115.75.

Separately, Barclays boosted their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $117.56 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.08. Chesapeake Utilities has a 52 week low of $83.79 and a 52 week high of $125.34. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $949,702.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPK. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 180.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 17.7% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 81.8% during the second 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 raised its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 10.2% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.