Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $142.00.

CPK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Mizuho set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 94.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 292.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:CPK traded up $0.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $130.45. The stock had a trading volume of 7,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,343. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Chesapeake Utilities has a one year low of $118.88 and a one year high of $140.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80 and a beta of 0.67.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.02). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm had revenue of $201.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 14th will be issued a $0.735 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 14th. This represents a $2.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.89%.

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.