Boston Trust Walden Corp Lowers Stake in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 318,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 46,525 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $40,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 1,040.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 8,654 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $2,880,000. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $3,314,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 45,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,706,000 after purchasing an additional 10,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,020,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $252,033,000 after buying an additional 49,789 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Chesapeake Utilities

In other news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.12, for a total transaction of $1,261,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 63,001 shares in the company, valued at $7,945,686.12. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.37, for a total value of $254,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,652 shares in the company, valued at $1,611,485.24. The trade was a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CPK shares. Barclays set a $142.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings cut Chesapeake Utilities from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 0.1%

Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $125.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 52 week low of $118.83 and a 52 week high of $140.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $124.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.97.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.12%.

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.