Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) Competitors

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) and National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, media sentiment, institutional ownership, dividends, community ranking, profitability and risk.

Do analysts prefer CPK or NFG?

Chesapeake Utilities currently has a consensus price target of $122.67, suggesting a potential downside of 8.54%. National Fuel Gas has a consensus price target of $74.67, suggesting a potential downside of 5.49%. Given National Fuel Gas' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe National Fuel Gas is more favorable than Chesapeake Utilities.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chesapeake Utilities	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
National Fuel Gas	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Is CPK or NFG a better dividend stock?

Chesapeake Utilities pays an annual dividend of $2.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. National Fuel Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Chesapeake Utilities pays out 48.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. National Fuel Gas pays out -1,471.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Chesapeake Utilities has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years and National Fuel Gas has increased its dividend for 55 consecutive years. National Fuel Gas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in CPK or NFG?

83.1% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.0% of National Fuel Gas shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of National Fuel Gas shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media favor CPK or NFG?

In the previous week, National Fuel Gas had 4 more articles in the media than Chesapeake Utilities. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for National Fuel Gas and 9 mentions for Chesapeake Utilities. National Fuel Gas' average media sentiment score of 1.34 beat Chesapeake Utilities' score of 1.19 indicating that National Fuel Gas is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Chesapeake Utilities	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
National Fuel Gas	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer CPK or NFG?

National Fuel Gas received 113 more outperform votes than Chesapeake Utilities when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.56% of users gave National Fuel Gas an outperform vote while only 59.86% of users gave Chesapeake Utilities an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Chesapeake Utilities	Outperform Votes 337 59.86%	Underperform Votes 226 40.14%
National Fuel Gas	Outperform Votes 450 64.56%	Underperform Votes 247 35.44%

Which has more volatility & risk, CPK or NFG?

Chesapeake Utilities has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Fuel Gas has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, CPK or NFG?

Chesapeake Utilities has higher revenue and earnings than National Fuel Gas. National Fuel Gas is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Chesapeake Utilities, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chesapeake Utilities	$81.09B	0.04	$87.21M	$5.27	25.45
National Fuel Gas	$1.97B	3.63	$77.51M	-$0.14	-564.29

Is CPK or NFG more profitable?

Chesapeake Utilities has a net margin of 14.16% compared to National Fuel Gas' net margin of -0.53%. National Fuel Gas' return on equity of 15.96% beat Chesapeake Utilities' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chesapeake Utilities	14.16%	9.08%	3.48%
National Fuel Gas	-0.53%	15.96%	5.68%

Summary

National Fuel Gas beats Chesapeake Utilities on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.