Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) COO Jeffery Sylvester Sells 1,000 Shares

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) COO Jeffery Sylvester sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.08, for a total transaction of $137,080.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 11,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,633,445.28. The trade was a 7.74% 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 hyperlink.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:CPK opened at $137.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.12. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 52 week low of $115.12 and a 52 week high of $140.59.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.08). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $179.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.30 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.350 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.685 dividend. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 48.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CPK shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays set a $141.00 price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CPK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,970,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $265,387,000 after buying an additional 12,590 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,257,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $152,023,000 after purchasing an additional 9,556 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 952,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $128,231,000 after buying an additional 205,742 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 590,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,574,000 after acquiring an additional 16,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 545,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,545,000 after acquiring an additional 9,632 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

About Chesapeake Utilities

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.