Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $6,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPK. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the first quarter worth approximately $26,299,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 13,619.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 148,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,100,000 after purchasing an additional 147,638 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the first quarter worth approximately $12,967,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 281,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,210,000 after purchasing an additional 23,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.7% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 518,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,556,000 after purchasing an additional 23,053 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $123.58 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.88. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 12 month low of $115.12 and a 12 month high of $136.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03 and a beta of 0.66.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $192.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.45 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.685 dividend. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CPK. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.50.

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.