Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) CEO Jeffry Householder Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) CEO Jeffry Householder sold 10,000 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.12, for a total value of $1,261,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 63,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,945,686.12. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 0.5%

CPK stock opened at $127.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 0.71. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a twelve month low of $117.64 and a twelve month high of $140.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $127.10 and a 200-day moving average of $129.09.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 earnings per share 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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 year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.735 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This is an increase from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPK. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 8.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 69.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 2,579 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 6.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,728,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 79,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,158,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1,714.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,078,000 after purchasing an additional 44,720 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Chesapeake Utilities

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.