Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CPK. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays set a $141.00 target price on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:CPK opened at $135.46 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $130.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15 and a beta of 0.79. Chesapeake Utilities has a 52-week low of $115.12 and a 52-week high of $140.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $179.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.30 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Beth W. Cooper sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.15, for a total value of $660,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,987,722.95. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at $603,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,568,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,561,000 after acquiring an additional 3,901 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 7.8% during the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 5,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the first quarter valued at about $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

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.