Insider Selling: Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) SVP Sells 2,000 Shares of Stock

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) SVP Kevin Webber sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.37, for a total transaction of $254,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,611,485.24. The trade was a 13.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of CPK traded up $0.03 on Thursday, reaching $126.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 115,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,053. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.17. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 12-month low of $117.64 and a 12-month high of $140.59.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.735 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 43.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CPK. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 94.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 292.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 66.1% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 77.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CPK shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays set a $142.00 price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.00.

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.