Inspire Investing LLC Acquires 2,728 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 84.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,728 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CPK. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 50.7% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the first quarter worth about $512,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 28.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 114.3% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 10.3% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 59,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,696,000 after buying an additional 5,585 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.50.

Insider Activity at Chesapeake Utilities

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, CFO Beth W. Cooper sold 5,000 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.15, for a total transaction of $660,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,987,722.95. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of CPK opened at $137.58 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.74. The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 1-year low of $115.12 and a 1-year high of $140.59.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $192.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.45 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 9.20%. Chesapeake Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.685 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.84%.

Chesapeake Utilities 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.