Hsbc Holdings PLC Takes $497,000 Position in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 4,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $497,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,020,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $252,033,000 after purchasing an additional 49,789 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,257,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $152,023,000 after acquiring an additional 9,556 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 952,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,231,000 after acquiring an additional 205,742 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 590,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,574,000 after purchasing an additional 16,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 554,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,217,000 after purchasing an additional 6,808 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Chesapeake Utilities

In other news, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.37, for a total transaction of $254,740.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 12,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,611,485.24. The trade was a 13.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.12, for a total value of $1,261,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 63,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,945,686.12. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays set a $142.00 price target on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Utilities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of CPK opened at $133.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 52-week low of $118.83 and a 52-week high of $140.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.11. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47 and a beta of 0.69.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.09. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.11% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The firm had revenue of $353.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $339.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.735 per share. This represents a $2.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 47.12%.

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.