Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK Position Lessened by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 18.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 206,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 48,087 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $27,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 94.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 77.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 25.6% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $136.10 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a twelve month low of $115.24 and a twelve month high of $140.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $128.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.59. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76 and a beta of 0.79.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.16 by ($0.22). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 15.09%.The business had revenue of $258.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.685 per share. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 45.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chesapeake Utilities

In other news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.83, for a total transaction of $240,083.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,532,590.28. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,500 shares of company stock worth $2,218,185. Company insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down from $141.00) on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

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.