Hsbc Holdings PLC Invests $497,000 in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $497,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CPK. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 831.0% during 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in 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 during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the third quarter worth about $19,604,000. Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 127.6% during the third quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 169,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,790,000 after purchasing an additional 94,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of CPK stock opened at $133.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $124.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 12 month low of $118.83 and a 12 month high of $140.59.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 15.11%.Chesapeake Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.735 dividend. This is an increase from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 47.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.37, for a total transaction of $254,740.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 12,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,611,485.24. This trade represents 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 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,001 shares in the company, valued at $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 company insiders.

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.