Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK Shares Sold by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.06% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $1,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,568,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 28.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 57.4% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 16,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 5,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the first quarter valued at $512,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chesapeake Utilities

In other news, CFO Beth W. Cooper sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.15, for a total value of $660,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 90,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,987,722.95. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays cut their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.50.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

NYSE CPK opened at $137.58 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a twelve month low of $115.12 and a twelve month high of $140.59. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.74.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 14.89%.The firm had revenue of $192.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.35 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.685 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.84%.

Chesapeake Utilities 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.