Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the four brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $111.20.

Separately, Barclays lifted their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $111.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

CPK stock traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $122.17. The stock had a trading volume of 51,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 117,763. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.52. The stock has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67 and a beta of 0.60. Chesapeake Utilities has a 52-week low of $83.79 and a 52-week high of $125.34.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.70 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 13.61%. The firm's revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Chesapeake Utilities's payout ratio is presently 53.78%.

Insider Activity at Chesapeake Utilities

In related news, Director Paul L. Maddock, Jr. sold 9,634 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.56, for a total value of $1,094,037.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at $949,702.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 2,737 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 206.7% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 5,362 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 76,824 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,115,000 after acquiring an additional 11,906 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 628,529 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,392,000 after acquiring an additional 4,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 2,826.8% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 23,385 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,470,000 after acquiring an additional 22,586 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Chesapeake Utilities

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.