Inceptionr LLC Takes Position in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 4,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $582,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CPK. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 29,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,679,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 66.1% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Chesapeake Utilities

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

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 0.8%

CPK opened at $135.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $125.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.47. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a twelve month low of $118.83 and a twelve month high of $140.59.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.09. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 15.11%.The company had revenue of $353.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $339.86 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is an increase from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.