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

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $132.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Chesapeake Utilities has a twelve month low of $118.83 and a twelve month high of $140.83. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average is $126.50 and its 200 day moving average is $127.95.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $353.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $339.86 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 15.11%.Chesapeake Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kevin J. 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 12,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,611,485.24. This trade represents a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.12, for a total transaction of $1,261,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,945,686.12. This trade represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1,040.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after buying an additional 8,654 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,880,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,020,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $252,033,000 after buying an additional 49,789 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 45,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,706,000 after acquiring an additional 10,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,314,000. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.