Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

CPK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE CPK opened at $123.21 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $123.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.31. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.38. Chesapeake Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $98.25 and a fifty-two week high of $134.20.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.11. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. The business had revenue of $160.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 51.93%.

Institutional Trading of Chesapeake Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 40.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 26,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,767,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 409.4% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 13,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after buying an additional 10,914 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after buying an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $238,000. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.3% in the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

About Chesapeake Utilities

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.