Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPKGet Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 352,884 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 137% from the previous session’s volume of 149,032 shares.The stock last traded at $128.3950 and had previously closed at $127.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 target price for the company. Barclays set a $142.00 price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.00.

Check Out Our Latest Report on CPK

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $124.17 and its 200 day moving average is $126.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPKGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $353.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $339.86 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 15.11%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.735 dividend. This represents a $2.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 47.12%.

Insider Activity at Chesapeake Utilities

In related news, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 2,000 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.37, for a total transaction of $254,740.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,611,485.24. The trade was a 13.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 owned 63,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,945,686.12. This trade represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,020,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $252,033,000 after purchasing an additional 49,789 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,257,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $152,023,000 after purchasing an additional 9,556 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 27.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 952,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,231,000 after buying an additional 205,742 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% in 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 554,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,217,000 after buying an additional 6,808 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

About Chesapeake Utilities

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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