JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 48,087 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 206,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 48,087 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $27,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.5% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 94.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 66.1% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 6.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CPK shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays restated a “reduce” rating and set a $140.00 target price (down from $141.00) on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 2.3%

CPK stock opened at $126.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 0.78. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 52 week low of $115.24 and a 52 week high of $140.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $130.13 and a 200 day moving average of $130.34.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $258.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.59 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.685 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 1,908 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Chesapeake Utilities

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.