Boston Trust Walden Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 12.8% in Q4, adding 41,592 shares to hold 365,353 shares (1.54% of the company) worth about $45.58 million, and institutional investors now own 83.11% of CPK.
• Chesapeake reported Q EPS of $1.94 (versus $2.16 expected) while revenue rose 20.4% to $258.9M and topped estimates; analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $142, as the stock trades near $124 with a market cap of about $2.98B.

Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 365,353 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 41,592 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 1.54% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $45,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 3.8% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.5% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 94.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 66.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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 research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Down 0.1%

CPK opened at $124.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 1-year low of $115.24 and a 1-year high of $140.59. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $130.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.08.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.16 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $258.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.59 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 15.09%.The firm's revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.685 per share. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Chesapeake Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.82%.

Chesapeake Utilities 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.

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