Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on CPK. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $141.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:CPK opened at $124.97 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $128.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.93. Chesapeake Utilities has a 1-year low of $115.24 and a 1-year high of $140.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 0.80.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.08). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The firm had revenue of $179.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.30 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.350 EPS. Analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.685 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 48.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total value of $950,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 56,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,213,533.84. The trade was a 11.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffery S. Sylvester sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.08, for a total value of $137,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,633,445.28. The trade was a 7.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 18,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,265 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chesapeake Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1,909.1% in the second quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 94.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 292.9% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 66.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Company Profile

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE: CPK) is a diversified energy services holding company headquartered in Dover, Delaware. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company engages in natural gas distribution, transmission and storage; propane distribution; wholesale propane supply; and contract compression and natural gas liquids processing. Its core mission is to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective energy solutions to residential, commercial and industrial customers across multiple U.S.