Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. The Unregulated Energy segment engages in the propane operations in the Mid-Atlantic region, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida; unregulated natural gas transmission/supply operation in central and eastern Ohio; generation of electricity and steam; provision of compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and renewable natural gas transportation and pipeline solutions primarily to utilities and pipelines in the United States; and sustainable energy investments. This segment is also involved in the provision of other unregulated services, such as energy-related merchandise sale and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and plumbing and electrical services. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Dover, Delaware.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $127.70 to $130.39
• 50-Day Range: $116.18 to $130.56
• 52-Week Range: $90.21 to $130.93
• Volume: 94,164 shs
• Average Volume: 93,559 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.94 billion
• P/E Ratio: 26.18
• Dividend Yield: 1.98%
• Price Target: $121.00
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Chesapeake Utilities scored higher than 90% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 24th out of 94 stocks in the utilities sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 1.2 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Chesapeake Utilities has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.33, and is based on 1 buy rating, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Chesapeake Utilities has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 3.1 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 15.96%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Chesapeake Utilities are expected to grow by 15.96% in the coming year, from $5.39 to $6.25 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Chesapeake Utilities is 26.18, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 127.65.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Chesapeake Utilities is 26.18, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Utilities sector average P/E ratio of about 98.44.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Chesapeake Utilities has a P/B Ratio of 1.84. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 5.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.51% of the outstanding shares of Chesapeake Utilities have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Chesapeake Utilities has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.8, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Chesapeake Utilities has recently decreased by 8.04%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

Chesapeake Utilities pays a meaningful dividend of 2.02%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Chesapeake Utilities has been increasing its dividend for 21 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Chesapeake Utilities is 51.93%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Chesapeake Utilities will have a dividend payout ratio of 40.96% next year. This indicates that Chesapeake Utilities will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 1.2 / 5
• Environmental Score: -8.75

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.51% of the outstanding shares of Chesapeake Utilities have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Chesapeake Utilities has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.8, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Chesapeake Utilities has recently decreased by 8.04%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.2 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.82

News Sentiment

Chesapeake Utilities has a news sentiment score of 0.82. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.68 average news sentiment score of Utilities companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 6 news articles for Chesapeake Utilities this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

MarketBeat Follows

3 people have added Chesapeake Utilities to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 200% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Chesapeake Utilities insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 1.66% of the stock of Chesapeake Utilities is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

83.11% of the stock of Chesapeake Utilities is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

CPK Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have CPK shares performed this year?

Chesapeake Utilities' stock was trading at $105.63 at the beginning of 2024. Since then, CPK stock has increased by 22.2% and is now trading at $129.05.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.

How were Chesapeake Utilities' earnings last quarter?

Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) announced its quarterly 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. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis.

When did Chesapeake Utilities' stock split?

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities split on the morning of Tuesday, September 9th 2014. The 3-2 split was announced on Wednesday, July 2nd 2014. The newly minted shares were distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, September 8th 2014. An investor that had 100 shares of stock prior to the split would have 150 shares after the split.

Who are Chesapeake Utilities' major shareholders?

Top institutional shareholders of Chesapeake Utilities include State Street Corp (5.37%), Copeland Capital Management LLC (2.66%), Geode Capital Management LLC (2.27%) and Jennison Associates LLC (2.15%). Insiders that own company stock include John R Schimkaitis, Jeffry M Householder, Thomas P Hill Jr, Paul L Maddock Jr, Jeffery S Sylvester, Kevin J Webber and Lila A Jaber.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Chesapeake Utilities?

Shares of CPK stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of Chesapeake Utilities own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Chesapeake Utilities investors own include American Water Works (AWK), Waste Connections (WCN), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), The RMR Group (RMR), iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC), AUO (AUOTY) and Triple Flag Precious Metals (TFPM).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 8/08/2024
• Ex-Dividend for 10/7 Dividend: 9/16/2024
• Dividend Payable: 10/07/2024
• Today: 11/21/2024
• Ex-Dividend for 1/6 Dividend: 12/16/2024
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2024
• Dividend Payable: 1/06/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 2/19/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Utilities
• Industry: Gas transmission & distribution
• Sub-Industry: Gas Utilities
• Current Symbol: NYSE:CPK
• CUSIP: 16530310
• CIK: 19745
• Web: www.chpk.com
• Phone: (302) 734-6799
• Fax: 302-734-6750
• Employees: 1,281
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $121.00
• High Stock Price Target: $124.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $115.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: -6.2%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.33
• Research Coverage: 3 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $4.93
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 26.18
• Forward P/E Ratio: 23.94
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $87.21 million
• Net Margins: 14.16%
• Pretax Margin: 19.03%
• Return on Equity: 9.08%
• Return on Assets: 3.48%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.87
• Current Ratio: 0.38
• Quick Ratio: 0.32

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $670.60 million
• Price / Sales: 4.38
• Cash Flow: $10.01 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 12.89
• Book Value: $70.02 per share
• Price / Book: 1.84

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 22,780,000
• Free Float: 22,403,000
• Market Cap: $2.94 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.61