Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (CPK) To Go Ex-Dividend on December 15th

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.685 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, January 5th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th.

Chesapeake Utilities has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 22 years. Chesapeake Utilities has a dividend payout ratio of 40.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Chesapeake Utilities to earn $6.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.74 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.8%.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $135.46 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities has a 1 year low of $115.12 and a 1 year high of $140.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $130.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.08). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $179.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CPK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays set a $141.00 price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.00.

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.