Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Director Sells 9,634 Shares

Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.56, for a total transaction of $1,094,037.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $949,702.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE CPK traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $113.89. The company had a trading volume of 87,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 123,327. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.44. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.79 and a fifty-two week high of $120.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94 and a beta of 0.60.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.02). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 10.17% and a net margin of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CPK. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 29,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,139,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.8% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.8% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on CPK. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.20.

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.