Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK Shares Sold by FourThought Financial Partners LLC

FourThought Financial Partners LLC trimmed its position in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 42.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $2,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 1,678.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC grew its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 45,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,706,000 after purchasing an additional 10,997 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $126.99 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $127.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 52-week low of $117.64 and a 52-week high of $140.59.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.09. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 15.11%.The company had revenue of $353.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $339.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.735 per share. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CPK. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays set a $142.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.00.

About Chesapeake Utilities

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE: CPK) is a diversified energy services holding company headquartered in Dover, Delaware. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company engages in natural gas distribution, transmission and storage; propane distribution; wholesale propane supply; and contract compression and natural gas liquids processing. Its core mission is to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective energy solutions to residential, commercial and industrial customers across multiple U.S.