Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Hits New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $134.86 and last traded at $133.45, with a volume of 55777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 3.1 %

The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $125.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,934,574 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $234,761,000 after acquiring an additional 44,692 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $5,110,000. FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $4,632,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 317,752 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,559,000 after purchasing an additional 29,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 342.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,600,000 after purchasing an additional 28,673 shares during the period. 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.

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