StockNews.com Upgrades Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Separately, Barclays boosted their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE CPK opened at $124.63 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities has a 52-week low of $83.79 and a 52-week high of $128.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $120.86 and a 200-day moving average of $114.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $166.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.70 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 13.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 51.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CPK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,859,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $199,471,000 after acquiring an additional 118,878 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 76.1% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 274,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,142,000 after purchasing an additional 118,561 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 61.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 275,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,529,000 after purchasing an additional 104,850 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 170.5% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 124,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,245,000 after buying an additional 78,613 shares during the period. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 166.9% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 92,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,957,000 after buying an additional 58,019 shares during the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Company Profile

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.