Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) Competitors

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) and Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, community ranking, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends and media sentiment.

Do analysts rate NFG or CPK?

National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus target price of $74.67, suggesting a potential downside of 5.67%. Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus target price of $122.67, suggesting a potential downside of 7.17%. Given National Fuel Gas' higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe National Fuel Gas is more favorable than Chesapeake Utilities.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Fuel Gas	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Chesapeake Utilities	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Which has better valuation and earnings, NFG or CPK?

Chesapeake Utilities has higher revenue and earnings than National Fuel Gas. National Fuel Gas is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Chesapeake Utilities, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Fuel Gas	$1.97B	3.64	$77.51M	-$0.14	-565.41
Chesapeake Utilities	$81.60B	0.04	$87.21M	$5.27	25.07

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in NFG or CPK?

74.0% of National Fuel Gas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.1% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of National Fuel Gas shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer NFG or CPK?

In the previous week, National Fuel Gas had 5 more articles in the media than Chesapeake Utilities. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for National Fuel Gas and 12 mentions for Chesapeake Utilities. National Fuel Gas' average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat Chesapeake Utilities' score of 0.67 indicating that National Fuel Gas is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
National Fuel Gas	11 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Chesapeake Utilities	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, NFG or CPK?

National Fuel Gas has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chesapeake Utilities has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is NFG or CPK a better dividend stock?

National Fuel Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Chesapeake Utilities pays an annual dividend of $2.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. National Fuel Gas pays out -1,471.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Chesapeake Utilities pays out 48.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. National Fuel Gas has raised its dividend for 55 consecutive years and Chesapeake Utilities has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years. National Fuel Gas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is NFG or CPK more profitable?

Chesapeake Utilities has a net margin of 14.16% compared to National Fuel Gas' net margin of -0.53%. National Fuel Gas' return on equity of 15.96% beat Chesapeake Utilities' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Fuel Gas	-0.53%	15.96%	5.68%
Chesapeake Utilities	14.16%	9.08%	3.48%

Does the MarketBeat Community favor NFG or CPK?

National Fuel Gas received 112 more outperform votes than Chesapeake Utilities when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.47% of users gave National Fuel Gas an outperform vote while only 59.61% of users gave Chesapeake Utilities an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
National Fuel Gas	Outperform Votes 450 64.47%	Underperform Votes 248 35.53%
Chesapeake Utilities	Outperform Votes 338 59.61%	Underperform Votes 229 40.39%

Summary

National Fuel Gas beats Chesapeake Utilities on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.