Tributary Capital Management LLC Buys 12,453 Shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation $CPK

Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) by 9.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,453 shares during the quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.60% of Chesapeake Utilities worth $16,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Chesapeake Utilities by 53.6% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Chesapeake Utilities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $603,000. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:CPK opened at $131.66 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $129.08 and its 200 day moving average is $125.98. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $115.12 and a fifty-two week high of $140.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 14.89%.The company had revenue of $192.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Chesapeake Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Chesapeake Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.150-6.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Utilities Corporation will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.685 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Chesapeake Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chesapeake Utilities news, CFO Beth W. Cooper sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.15, for a total value of $660,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 90,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,987,722.95. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPK has been the topic of several recent research reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Barclays set a $128.00 price objective on Chesapeake Utilities and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.50.

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.