Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Separately, Guggenheim increased their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

CPK stock opened at $126.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38. Chesapeake Utilities has a 1 year low of $98.32 and a 1 year high of $134.20. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.70 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.35.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 9.08%. The business had revenue of $215.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Chesapeake Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CPK. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 12.3% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 151.2% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 13,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,731,000 after buying an additional 8,391 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter worth $734,000. 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.