Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays restated a “reduce” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down from $141.00) on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $130.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 0.78. Chesapeake Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $115.24 and a fifty-two week high of $140.59. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $129.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.09.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $258.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.59 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 15.09%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Chesapeake Utilities

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.83, for a total value of $240,083.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,532,590.28. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 17,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,185 in the last quarter. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 151,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,175,000 after acquiring an additional 5,888 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 18.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 573,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,982,000 after purchasing an additional 87,978 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 74.5% during the second quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 2,656 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 545,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,545,000 after purchasing an additional 9,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 92.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.