Legal & General Group Plc Sells 4,467 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,467 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $17,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 292.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 94.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in 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. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 77.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.37, for a total transaction of $254,740.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,611,485.24. The trade was a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.12, for a total transaction of $1,261,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 63,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,945,686.12. This trade represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Barclays set a $142.00 price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:CPK opened at $120.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $126.67 and a 200-day moving average of $128.77. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32 and a beta of 0.71. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a one year low of $117.64 and a one year high of $140.59.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $353.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $339.86 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.11% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.735 per share. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.12%.

Chesapeake Utilities Company Profile

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.