Sei Investments Co. Boosts Holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,388 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.27% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $8,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CPK. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 94.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 292.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 66.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 133.0% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chesapeake Utilities

In related news, CEO Jeffry M. Householder sold 10,000 shares of Chesapeake Utilities stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.12, for a total value of $1,261,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 63,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,945,686.12. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kevin J. Webber sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.37, for a total value of $254,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,611,485.24. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price objective for the company. Barclays set a $142.00 target price on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.00.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of CPK stock opened at $132.78 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $126.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.95. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a 52 week low of $118.83 and a 52 week high of $140.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 0.69.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.09. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 15.11% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The company had revenue of $353.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $339.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2028 guidance at 7.750-8.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.735 per share. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 47.12%.

About Chesapeake Utilities

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE: CPK) is a diversified energy services holding company headquartered in Dover, Delaware. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company engages in natural gas distribution, transmission and storage; propane distribution; wholesale propane supply; and contract compression and natural gas liquids processing. Its core mission is to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective energy solutions to residential, commercial and industrial customers across multiple U.S.