Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Announces Earnings Results

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.04), Briefing.com reports. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 13.01%. The firm had revenue of $245.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:CPK traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $111.26. 112,847 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,947. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55 and a beta of 0.60. Chesapeake Utilities has a 1-year low of $83.79 and a 1-year high of $132.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Chesapeake Utilities's payout ratio is presently 49.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com lowered Chesapeake Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

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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