Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Huntington

Huntington initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $150.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Mizuho set a $150.00 price target on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

CPK stock opened at $129.83 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71 and a beta of 0.67. Chesapeake Utilities has a 12 month low of $118.88 and a 12 month high of $140.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $133.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.77.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.02). Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 15.12%.The business had revenue of $201.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 14th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 46.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CPK. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the second quarter worth $459,185,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 939,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,104,000 after purchasing an additional 39,754 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 1.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,935,000. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,080,000. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chesapeake Utilities Company Profile

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation is a diversified energy delivery company headquartered in Dover, Delaware. Founded in 1859, the company operates regulated and unregulated businesses that provide natural gas, propane, electric power and related energy services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

Its operations include natural gas distribution and transmission, propane distribution, wholesale and retail energy marketing, compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas services, and energy logistics.