Tufton Capital Management Grows Stake in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Tufton Capital Management grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 32.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 23,304 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Utilities accounts for 2.1% of Tufton Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Tufton Capital Management owned about 0.40% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $11,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 94.7% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 292.9% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 77.4% during the 3rd 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, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $124.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.08. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a one year low of $115.24 and a one year high of $140.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.45.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $258.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.59 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. Research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.685 dividend. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 45.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CPK shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays set a $142.00 target price on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.00.

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.