Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Acquires 1,893 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation by 7.3%, acquiring an additional 1,893 shares and totaling 27,877 shares valued at approximately $3.35 million.
• Chesapeake Utilities reported strong quarterly earnings of $1.04 EPS, surpassing estimates and achieving a revenue of $192.80 million, a 15.9% increase compared to the previous year.
• Barclays has reduced its price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $124.00 to $120.00, with the stock currently holding a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $124.50.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,893 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned about 0.12% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $3,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 292.9% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 114.3% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $124.50.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:CPK opened at $138.63 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $115.12 and a 1 year high of $139.51. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $126.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.64. The company has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71 and a beta of 0.74.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.04. The business 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 revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.685 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Chesapeake Utilities's payout ratio is 48.84%.

Insider Activity at Chesapeake Utilities

In other news, CFO Beth W. Cooper sold 5,000 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.15, for a total value of $660,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 90,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,987,722.95. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

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.

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