Invesco Ltd. Grows Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation by 4.6%, acquiring an additional 21,143 shares, bringing its total to approximately 485,822 shares valued at about $62.39 million.
• Chesapeake Utilities announced a quarterly dividend of $0.685 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.2%, to be paid on October 6th to shareholders of record on September 15th.
• Analyst ratings for Chesapeake Utilities varied, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock to "sell," while LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded it to "strong-buy."

Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 485,822 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 21,143 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 2.11% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $62,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CPK. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 43,258 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,249,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities by 587.1% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 213 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,110,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 805.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,313 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CPK traded down $0.3660 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $124.0240. 12,218 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 114,510. The company's 50 day moving average price is $121.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.84. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11 and a beta of 0.66. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 52 week low of $112.92 and a 52 week high of $136.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $182.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.35 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $0.685 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Chesapeake Utilities's payout ratio is currently 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.