Copeland Capital Management LLC Sells 49,949 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Key Points

• Copeland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation by 8.6%, selling 49,949 shares and now holding 531,381 shares valued at approximately $63.9 million.
• Insider activity reported CFO Beth W. Cooper sold 5,000 shares, decreasing her position by 5.22% and bringing her total ownership to 90,713 shares worth nearly $12 million.
• Chesapeake Utilities announced a quarterly dividend of $0.685, translating to an annualized yield of 2.0% based on a payout ratio of 48.84%.

Copeland Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 531,381 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 49,949 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Utilities comprises approximately 1.3% of Copeland Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned about 2.28% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $63,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 6,632 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Beth W. Cooper sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $11,987,722.95. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barclays cut their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $124.50.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of CPK opened at $134.39 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 1 year low of $115.12 and a 1 year high of $136.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.685 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Chesapeake Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.84%.

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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