Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) CFO Sells $660,750.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Chesapeake Utilities CFO Beth Cooper sold 5,000 shares of stock for $660,750, reducing her ownership by 5.22% but still retaining 90,713 shares valued at approximately $11.99 million.
• The company recently reported earnings of $1.04 per share, exceeding estimates, and revenue increased by 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year.
• Chesapeake Utilities announced a quarterly dividend of $0.685 per share, representing a 2.0% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 48.84%.

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) CFO Beth Cooper sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.15, for a total transaction of $660,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,987,722.95. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock traded up $1.07 on Monday, hitting $135.15. The stock had a trading volume of 148,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 140,015. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $124.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.03. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a one year low of $115.12 and a one year high of $136.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $192.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.45 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 14.89%.Chesapeake Utilities's quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.685 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Chesapeake Utilities's payout ratio is currently 48.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barclays decreased their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $124.50.

Institutional Trading of Chesapeake Utilities

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,568,000 after buying an additional 2,989 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 28.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 864 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 57.4% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 16,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after buying an additional 5,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the 1st quarter worth about $512,000. 83.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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