Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.22 EPS

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.16 by ($0.22), FiscalAI reports. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The firm had revenue of $258.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.59 million.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of CPK stock traded down $0.77 on Wednesday, hitting $134.29. 106,647 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 120,666. The company’s fifty day moving average is $127.66 and its 200 day moving average is $129.39. Chesapeake Utilities has a 1-year low of $115.24 and a 1-year high of $140.59. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.83, for a total transaction of $240,083.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,532,590.28. This 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 is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 17,500 shares of company stock worth $2,218,185 in the last three months. 1.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CPK. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 145,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,208,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,196,000. Vennlight Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,438,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CPK. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays restated a “reduce” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down from $141.00) on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.00.

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.