Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Huntington

Huntington started coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks reports. The firm issued a strong-buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

CPK has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho set a $155.00 price target on Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $136.00 price objective on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.75.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $140.94 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23 and a beta of 0.62. Chesapeake Utilities has a twelve month low of $118.88 and a twelve month high of $145.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $131.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 15.12%. The firm had revenue of $195.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities will post 6.40 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a $0.7350 dividend. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 46.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 38.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.7% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 6,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $811,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Chesapeake Utilities

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation is a diversified energy company that delivers natural gas, propane and electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Its businesses also include natural gas transmission and distribution, energy generation, and renewable natural gas projects.

The company serves customers across Delaware, Maryland, Florida and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Its operations include regulated natural gas and electric utilities as well as unregulated propane distribution and energy-related services.

Chesapeake Utilities traces its roots to the Dover Gas Light Company, established in Delaware in 1859.