LADENBURG THALM/SH SH Upgrades Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) to “Strong-Buy”

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) was upgraded by research analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Chesapeake Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Chesapeake Utilities Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of CPK stock opened at $130.49 on Thursday. Chesapeake Utilities has a twelve month low of $98.32 and a twelve month high of $134.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47 and a beta of 0.66.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $215.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.84 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 14.16%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPK. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 587.1% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 2,018.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 805.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 159.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.