Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) CEO Jeffry Householder Sells 10,000 Shares

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) CEO Jeffry Householder sold 10,000 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of CPK traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $127.15. The company had a trading volume of 113,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,679. The business has a fifty day moving average of $127.17 and a 200-day moving average of $129.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 0.71. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 12 month low of $117.64 and a 12 month high of $140.59.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $353.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $339.86 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.11% and a return on equity of 9.53%. Chesapeake Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 94.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 period. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 77.4% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on CPK. 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 price objective on the stock. Barclays set a $142.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. 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, Chesapeake Utilities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.