Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

Separately, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of CPK opened at $130.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Chesapeake Utilities has a one year low of $98.32 and a one year high of $134.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $122.93 and a 200 day moving average of $122.93.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. The firm had revenue of $215.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $237.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Institutional Trading of Chesapeake Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CPK. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 11.6% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,095,000 after acquiring an additional 4,262 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 5.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 287,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,760,000 after acquiring an additional 14,430 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $767,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter valued at about $966,000. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Company 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.