Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on CPK. Barclays set a $142.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 0.6%

CPK opened at $126.27 on Monday. Chesapeake Utilities has a 1-year low of $115.24 and a 1-year high of $140.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $128.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.33.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPK. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 831.0% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 511,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,884,000 after purchasing an additional 456,497 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 27.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 952,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,231,000 after purchasing an additional 205,742 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the third quarter worth about $19,604,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 1,395.0% during the third quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 131,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,647,000 after purchasing an additional 122,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 127.6% during the third quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 169,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,790,000 after purchasing an additional 94,872 shares during the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.