Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $5.33-$5.45 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $5.40.

Chesapeake Utilities Stock Down 1.1 %

CPK traded down $1.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $113.90. 113,780 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 123,840. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.38. Chesapeake Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $83.79 and a fifty-two week high of $120.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93 and a beta of 0.60.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $166.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.70 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Utilities will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 53.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays initiated coverage on Chesapeake Utilities in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an equal weight rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $109.80.

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.