Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 1,987 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation by 46.1%, acquiring an additional 1,987 shares to total 6,296 shares valued at $775,000.
• Chesapeake Utilities' CFO, Beth W. Cooper, recently sold 5,000 shares for approximately $660,750, reducing their stake by 5.22%.
• Barclays adjusted its price target for Chesapeake Utilities from $124.00 to $120.00 and currently rates the stock as "equal weight", with an average price target of $124.50.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK - Free Report) by 46.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,987 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.7% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 518,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,556,000 after purchasing an additional 23,053 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 4.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 485,822 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $62,394,000 after purchasing an additional 21,143 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 271,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the first quarter worth $26,299,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 57.1% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 177,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $22,738,000 after acquiring an additional 64,353 shares during the period. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Chesapeake Utilities

In other news, CFO Beth W. Cooper sold 5,000 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $11,987,722.95. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $124.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $124.50.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of CPK stock opened at $134.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 1 year low of $115.12 and a 1 year high of $136.73. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $125.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96 and a beta of 0.74.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $192.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The company's 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, equities analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.685 dividend. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Chesapeake Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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