Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.64

Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 0.64 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, April 7th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th.

Chesapeake Utilities has raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Chesapeake Utilities has a dividend payout ratio of 37.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Chesapeake Utilities to earn $6.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.0%.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock traded up $0.32 on Friday, reaching $126.70. 126,760 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 80,550. Chesapeake Utilities has a twelve month low of $98.32 and a twelve month high of $134.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $122.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $215.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.84 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 9.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on CPK shares. StockNews.com cut Chesapeake Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim upped their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd.

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.