9,650 Shares in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK Bought by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 9,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,219,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 831.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 511,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,884,000 after acquiring an additional 456,497 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 27.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 952,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,231,000 after purchasing an additional 205,742 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter worth approximately $19,604,000. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 127.6% in the third quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 169,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,790,000 after purchasing an additional 94,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 202,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,234,000 after purchasing an additional 71,242 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CPK. Barclays set a $142.00 price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CPK opened at $135.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $128.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.88 and a 12-month high of $140.83.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $201.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $198.91 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 14th will be given a $0.735 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 14th. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 46.89%.

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.