Comparing Spire (NYSE:SR) & Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK)

Spire (NYSE:SR) and Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.4% of Spire shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.1% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are held by institutional investors. 2.3% of Spire shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are held by company 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Spire and Chesapeake Utilities”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Spire	$2.59 billion	1.75	$250.90 million	$4.63	16.62
Chesapeake Utilities	$787.20 million	3.75	$118.60 million	$5.61	22.37

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Spire and Chesapeake Utilities, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Spire	2	4	3	1	2.30
Chesapeake Utilities	0	2	0	1	2.67

Spire currently has a consensus target price of $79.20, indicating a potential upside of 2.91%. Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus target price of $124.50, indicating a potential downside of 0.77%. Given Spire’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Spire is more favorable than Chesapeake Utilities.

Volatility and Risk

Spire has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chesapeake Utilities has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Spire pays an annual dividend of $3.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Chesapeake Utilities pays an annual dividend of $2.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Spire pays out 67.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Chesapeake Utilities pays out 48.8% 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. Spire has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years and Chesapeake Utilities has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Spire and Chesapeake Utilities’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Spire	11.56%	8.66%	2.42%
Chesapeake Utilities	14.89%	9.20%	3.62%

Summary

Chesapeake Utilities beats Spire on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Spire

Spire Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas. In addition, the company engages in the operation of propane through its propane pipeline, risk management, and other activities. The company was formerly known as The Laclede Group, Inc. and changed its name to Spire Inc. in April 2016. Spire Inc. was founded in 1857 and is based in Saint Louis, Missouri.

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. The Unregulated Energy segment engages in the propane operations in the Mid-Atlantic region, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida; unregulated natural gas transmission/supply operation in central and eastern Ohio; generation of electricity and steam; provision of compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and renewable natural gas transportation and pipeline solutions primarily to utilities and pipelines in the United States; and sustainable energy investments. This segment is also involved in the provision of other unregulated services, such as energy-related merchandise sale and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and plumbing and electrical services. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Dover, Delaware.