Wells Fargo & Company Raises Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Price Target to $115.00

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $115.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 2.88% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on CPK. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.50.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 0.3 %

Chesapeake Utilities stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $111.78. The stock had a trading volume of 11,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,645. Chesapeake Utilities has a 52-week low of $83.79 and a 52-week high of $132.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $104.94 and a 200 day moving average of $101.29. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.04). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company had revenue of $245.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,740,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $183,809,000 after acquiring an additional 334,088 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 628,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,392,000 after purchasing an additional 4,208 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 455,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,164,000 after purchasing an additional 9,040 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 28.4% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 428,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,014,000 after purchasing an additional 94,980 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 252,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,705,000 after buying an additional 936 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chesapeake Utilities Company Profile

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation operates as an energy delivery company. The company operates through two segments, Regulated Energy and Unregulated Energy. The Regulated Energy segment natural gas distribution operations in central and southern Delaware, Maryland's eastern shore, and Florida; regulated natural gas transmission in the Delmarva Peninsula, Ohio, and Florida; and regulated electric distribution in northeast and northwest Florida.