Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CPK traded down $1.60 on Wednesday, hitting $123.56. The stock had a trading volume of 45,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 69,546. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $122.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.62. Chesapeake Utilities has a twelve month low of $98.25 and a twelve month high of $134.20.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.11. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. The firm had revenue of $160.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CPK. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 2,018.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 19.2% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 634 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter valued at about $99,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 159.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.