Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK Shares Sold by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 48,087 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.88% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $27,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 9.7% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 17,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,299,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 91,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,371,000 after acquiring an additional 12,274 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 6.4% in the third quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the third quarter valued at approximately $361,000. 83.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of CPK stock opened at $136.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76 and a beta of 0.79. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a one year low of $115.24 and a one year high of $140.59. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.16 by ($0.22). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The firm had revenue of $258.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.685 dividend. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 45.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $141.00) on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.83, for a total transaction of $240,083.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,532,590.28. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 17,500 shares of company stock worth $2,218,185 in the last three months. 2.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.