LPL Financial LLC Has $2.02 Million Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation by 14.8%, owning approximately 0.07% of the company, valued at $2.02 million.
• Chesapeake Utilities reported a net margin of 14.89% and quarterly revenue of $192.80 million, surpassing analysts' estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.685, with an annualized yield of 2.2%, set to be paid on October 6th.

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,750 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,033 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.07% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $2,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,078 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,568,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position 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 buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the first quarter worth about $512,000. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Chesapeake Utilities to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $124.50.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

NYSE CPK traded up $2.7470 during trading on Friday, reaching $127.3570. 108,558 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 100,990. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $122.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.88. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70 and a beta of 0.66. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 1-year low of $112.92 and a 1-year high of $136.73.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.685 per share. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Chesapeake Utilities's payout ratio is presently 48.84%.

Chesapeake Utilities Profile

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.