Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK Shares Bought by SG Americas Securities LLC

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 1,040.1% in Q4 to 9,486 shares worth $1.183 million, and institutional investors/hedge funds now own 83.11% of the stock.
• Chesapeake missed EPS estimates for the quarter ($1.94 reported vs. $2.16 expected) while revenue rose 20.4% to $258.9 million; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $140 and FY2028 guidance of $7.75–$8.00 EPS.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.685 (annualized $2.74), yielding about 2.1% with a payout ratio of 45.82%.

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 1,040.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,486 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,654 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $1,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 18.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 573,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $68,982,000 after acquiring an additional 87,978 shares during the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1,395.0% in the third quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 131,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,647,000 after acquiring an additional 122,258 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 92.5% in the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 270,642 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,453,000 after acquiring an additional 130,071 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the third quarter worth approximately $1,471,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 17.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 68,417 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,215,000 after acquiring an additional 10,201 shares during the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Barclays reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $141.00) on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $140.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of CPK stock opened at $129.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $115.24 and a fifty-two week high of $140.59. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $130.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.47.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $258.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.59 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.09% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.000 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.685 per share. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Chesapeake Utilities's payout ratio is 45.82%.

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.

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