Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

CPK has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $141.00 price target on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $128.86 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $115.24 and a fifty-two week high of $140.59. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.04.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $179.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.30 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.685 per share. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total value of $950,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 56,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,213,533.84. This represents a 11.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffery S. Sylvester sold 1,000 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.08, for a total transaction of $137,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,633,445.28. This trade represents a 7.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 18,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,265 over the last three months. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 292.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1,909.1% in the second quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 94.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

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.