Jeffry Householder Sells 10,000 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Stock

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) CEO Jeffry Householder sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.12, for a total value of $1,261,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 63,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,945,686.12. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 0.5%

Chesapeake Utilities stock traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $127.15. The stock had a trading volume of 113,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,679. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $127.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.43. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 1-year low of $117.64 and a 1-year high of $140.59.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $353.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $339.86 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 15.11%.The business’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.735 dividend. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This is an increase from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 8.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 69.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 2,579 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 6.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,728,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 79,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,158,000 after buying an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1,714.7% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,078,000 after acquiring an additional 44,720 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CPK. Barclays set a $142.00 price objective on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.00.

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.