New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $85,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 587.1% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 114.3% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays cut their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Chesapeake Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CPK opened at $123.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.78. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 52 week low of $112.92 and a 52 week high of $136.73.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $192.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.45 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 14.89%. The business’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.685 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.84%.

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.