Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Separately, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Up 1.6 %

CPK opened at $125.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Chesapeake Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $98.25 and a fifty-two week high of $134.20. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $123.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 0.65.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $160.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.80 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 9.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Utilities

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 19.2% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.11% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Utilities Company 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.