Insider Selling: Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) CEO Sells $633,600.00 in Stock

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) CEO Jeffry Householder sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.72, for a total value of $633,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 71,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,113,195.52. The trade was a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 2.9%

NYSE CPK opened at $125.02 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 52 week low of $115.12 and a 52 week high of $140.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $132.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13 and a beta of 0.79.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 14.77%.Chesapeake Utilities’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.350 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.685 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 48.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 831.0% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 511,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,884,000 after buying an additional 456,497 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 952,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $128,231,000 after acquiring an additional 205,742 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at $19,604,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 92.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 270,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,453,000 after purchasing an additional 130,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 1,395.0% during the third quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 131,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,647,000 after purchasing an additional 122,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays set a $141.00 price objective on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. BTIG Research started coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.00.

About Chesapeake Utilities

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE: CPK) is a diversified energy services holding company headquartered in Dover, Delaware. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company engages in natural gas distribution, transmission and storage; propane distribution; wholesale propane supply; and contract compression and natural gas liquids processing. Its core mission is to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective energy solutions to residential, commercial and industrial customers across multiple U.S.