Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $144.00.

A number of research firms have commented on CPK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Huntington started coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Mizuho set a $150.00 price target on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 0.7%

CPK opened at $130.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $133.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84 and a beta of 0.67. Chesapeake Utilities has a 52 week low of $118.88 and a 52 week high of $140.83.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $201.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.91 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 15.12%.Chesapeake Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. Analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 14th will be issued a $0.735 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 14th. This represents a $2.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 46.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $459,185,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.4% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 939,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,104,000 after purchasing an additional 39,754 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 554,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,217,000 after buying an additional 6,808 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,935,000. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,080,000. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Chesapeake Utilities

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation is a diversified energy delivery company headquartered in Dover, Delaware. Founded in 1859, the company operates regulated and unregulated businesses that provide natural gas, propane, electric power and related energy services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

Its operations include natural gas distribution and transmission, propane distribution, wholesale and retail energy marketing, compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas services, and energy logistics.