Copeland Capital Management LLC Sells 9,930 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Copeland Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 468,656 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,930 shares during the period. Chesapeake Utilities accounts for 1.3% of Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned 1.95% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $59,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 94.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 292.9% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 66.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 133.0% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CPK. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of CPK opened at $133.21 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a twelve month low of $118.83 and a twelve month high of $140.59. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.15.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $353.10 million for 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 was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.735 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 47.12%.

Insider Transactions at Chesapeake Utilities

In other news, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 2,000 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.37, for a total transaction of $254,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 12,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,611,485.24. The trade was a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.12, for a total value 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. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Chesapeake Utilities 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.