Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

CPK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays set a $141.00 price objective on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:CPK traded up $2.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $135.46. 128,185 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 119,766. Chesapeake Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $115.12 and a fifty-two week high of $140.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.99.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $179.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.30 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 9.20%. Chesapeake Utilities’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Chesapeake Utilities

In related news, CFO Beth W. Cooper sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.15, for a total transaction of $660,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,987,722.95. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CPK. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at about $603,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,568,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,901 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 7.8% during the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 5,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 1st quarter worth $217,000. Institutional investors 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.