Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $144.50

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $144.50.

CPK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Mizuho set a $150.00 price objective on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $136.00 target price on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Huntington started coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPK. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the second quarter valued at approximately $459,185,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.4% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 939,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,104,000 after purchasing an additional 39,754 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 554,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,217,000 after purchasing an additional 6,808 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the second quarter worth $25,935,000. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC purchased a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the second quarter valued at $25,080,000. 83.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CPK opened at $129.01 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $131.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.52. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 0.65. Chesapeake Utilities has a 12 month low of $118.88 and a 12 month high of $140.83.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.02). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 15.12%. The business had revenue of $201.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $198.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities will post 6.41 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Investors of record on Monday, September 14th were issued a $0.7350 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 14th. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 46.89%.

About Chesapeake Utilities

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE: CPK) is a diversified energy delivery company headquartered in Dover, Delaware. Through its operating divisions and subsidiaries, the company provides natural gas distribution, transmission and storage, propane distribution, electric distribution, and other energy-related services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

The company operates regulated natural gas utilities in Delaware, Maryland and Florida, as well as natural gas transmission and pipeline businesses serving portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.