Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Issues Earnings Results

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.04), Briefing.com reports. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 10.19%. The company had revenue of $245.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:CPK traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $111.26. 112,847 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 128,947. Chesapeake Utilities has a 1 year low of $83.79 and a 1 year high of $132.91. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.22.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 49.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Chesapeake Utilities from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.00.

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.