Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK Shares Sold by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its Chesapeake Utilities stake by 12.7% in the first quarter, selling 46,525 shares and leaving it with 318,828 shares valued at about $40.3 million.
• Chesapeake Utilities reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.47 versus the $2.38 consensus and revenue of $353.1 million, up 18.2% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.735 per share from $0.69, which implies an annualized dividend of $2.94 and a yield of 2.3%.

Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 318,828 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 46,525 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 1.33% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $40,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CPK. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 29,488 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,679,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,540 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 66.1% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on CPK shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $132.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays set a $142.00 price objective on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $137.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.37, for a total value of $254,740.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,611,485.24. The trade was a 13.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.12, for a total transaction of $1,261,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,945,686.12. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Up 0.1%

Chesapeake Utilities stock opened at $125.14 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 1-year low of $118.83 and a 1-year high of $140.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $124.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.97.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $353.10 million for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.735 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Chesapeake Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.12%.

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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