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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $123.56 on Wednesday. Chesapeake Utilities has a 12-month low of $98.25 and a 12-month high of $134.20. The company has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06 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 50 day simple moving average is $122.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.60.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $160.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CPK. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 139.3% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 2,386 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,110,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $791,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,399,000. Finally, Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.