Analyzing Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) & APA Group (OTCMKTS:APAJF)

APA Group (OTCMKTS:APAJF) and Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares APA Group and Chesapeake Utilities”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
APA Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.39	17.31
Chesapeake Utilities	$930.00 million	3.46	$140.30 million	$6.24	21.47

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

20.7% of APA Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.1% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for APA Group and Chesapeake Utilities, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
APA Group	0	1	0	0	2.00
Chesapeake Utilities	0	3	1	0	2.25

APA Group currently has a consensus target price of $9.00, indicating a potential upside of 32.20%. Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus target price of $137.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.25%. Given APA Group’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe APA Group is more favorable than Chesapeake Utilities.

Dividends

APA Group pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Chesapeake Utilities pays an annual dividend of $2.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. APA Group pays out 72.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Chesapeake Utilities pays out 47.1% 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 22 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares APA Group and Chesapeake Utilities’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
APA Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Chesapeake Utilities	15.11%	9.53%	3.81%

Summary

Chesapeake Utilities beats APA Group on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About APA Group

APA Group engages in the energy infrastructure business in Australia. The company operates through Energy Infrastructure, Asset Management, and Energy Investments segments. It operates gas transmission pipelines and interconnected grids, gas-fired power stations, electricity transmission interconnectors, solar and wind farms, and battery energy storage systems, as well as gas storage, processing, and compression facilities. The company also has interests in approximately 15,000 kilometers of gas transmission pipelines; approximately 29,500 kilometers of gas mains and pipelines; and 1.5 million gas consumer connections. It also provides asset management and operating services to its energy investments and third parties; and invests in energy infrastructure. The company is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.

About Chesapeake Utilities

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation operates as an energy delivery company. The company operates through two segments, Regulated Energy and Unregulated Energy. The Regulated Energy segment natural gas distribution operations in central and southern Delaware, Maryland's eastern shore, and Florida; regulated natural gas transmission in the Delmarva Peninsula, Ohio, and Florida; and regulated electric distribution in northeast and northwest Florida. The Unregulated Energy segment engages in the propane operations in the Mid-Atlantic region, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida; unregulated natural gas transmission/supply operation in central and eastern Ohio; generation of electricity and steam; provision of compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and renewable natural gas transportation and pipeline solutions primarily to utilities and pipelines in the United States; and sustainable energy investments. This segment is also involved in the provision of other unregulated services, such as energy-related merchandise sale and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and plumbing and electrical services. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Dover, Delaware.