Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $3.25B
• Dividend Yield: 2.15%
• Average Volume (3M): 140.54K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 22.8
• Beta (1Y): 0.01
• Revenue Growth: 17.15%
• EPS Growth: 15.00%
• Country: US
• Employees: 1,200
• Sector: Utilities
• Sector Strength: 65
• Industry: Regulated Gas
• EPS (TTM): 1.94
• Shares Outstanding: 23,936,405
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 154,570
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 140,545
• PEG Ratio: 1.53
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.83
• Price to Sales (P/S): 3.14
• P/FCF Ratio: -13.58
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.49
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 5.49
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 11.22
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 14.33
• 1Y Price Target: N/A
• Price Target Upside: N/A
• Rating Consensus: Hold
• Number of Analyst Covering: 1
• EPS Forecast (FY): 6.54
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $935.86M

• Rating: 68 Neutral
• Price Target: $146.00 ▲(7.38% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/26/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/26/26

The score is driven primarily by solid earnings stability and growth for a regulated utility, supported by a positive earnings-call outlook and an improving technical trend. Offsetting factors are volatile free cash flow and leverage/financial-data reliability concerns, plus a valuation that is not especially discounted given the dividend yield.

Positive Factors

Revenue & Earnings Growth

Sustained top-line and net income growth over several years reflects durable demand in regulated gas and electricity markets. Strong EBITDA and net margins (utility-typical bands) indicate predictable cash generation capacity that supports reinvestment and steady earnings through the medium term.

Rate Case Outcomes

Successful regulatory outcomes provide structural margin uplift and predictable, tariff-backed returns on infrastructure. Rate recoveries lock in long-term revenue streams that improve project paybacks and reduce execution risk for capital programs across multiple jurisdictions.

Operating Cash Flow Strength

Rising operating cash flow underpins the company’s ability to fund large capital programs, service debt, and sustain dividend policy. Even with volatile free cash flow, stable OCF is a durable signal of core business cash generation and operational resilience over the next several quarters.

Negative Factors

Volatile Free Cash Flow

Persistent FCF volatility—driven by heavy infrastructure spending—creates structural financing risk. Repeated negative FCF years can force additional debt or equity issuance, raising capital costs and diluting returns just as the firm executes multi-year capex plans.

Elevated / Uncertain Leverage

A near-1x debt-to-equity profile is typical but heightens sensitivity to rate increases or capex overruns. The 2025 reporting inconsistencies reduce confidence in leverage metrics, complicating capital planning and creditor assessment during a multi-year investment cycle.

Regulatory Delays & Rising OpEx

Regulatory timing risk can postpone rate recovery and defers returns on invested capital; concurrently rising operating expenses compress margins. Together these structural issues can slow EPS accretion from capital projects and pressure medium-term profitability.

Chesapeake Utilities Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation operates as an energy delivery company. The company operates through two segments, Regulated Energy and Unregulated Energy. The Regulated Energy segment engages in the natural gas distribution operations in central and southern Delaware, Maryland's eastern shore, and Florida; regulated natural gas transmission in the Delmarva Peninsula and Florida; and regulated electric distribution in northeast and northwest Florida. The Unregulated Energy segment engages in the propane operations in the Mid-Atlantic region, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida; unregulated natural gas transmission/supply operation in central and eastern Ohio; generation of electricity and steam; and provision of compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and renewable natural gas transportation and pipeline solutions primarily to utilities and pipelines in the eastern United States. This segment also provides other unregulated energy services, such as energy-related merchandise sales; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services; and plumbing and electrical services. The company was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Dover, Delaware.

How the Company Makes Money

Chesapeake Utilities generates revenue primarily through the distribution of natural gas and electricity to its customers. The company operates under regulated utility frameworks, which allows it to earn a return on its investments in infrastructure, such as pipelines and distribution networks. Key revenue streams include sales of natural gas and electricity, as well as fees for services related to the maintenance and operation of its energy systems. Additionally, Chesapeake Utilities has expanded its revenue sources through its propane distribution segment and investments in renewable energy projects, allowing it to tap into emerging markets and diversify its earnings. Significant partnerships with local governments and businesses also play a crucial role in securing contracts and expanding its customer base, thereby contributing to its overall financial performance.

Chesapeake Utilities Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Income statement strength (revenue and net income growth with steady utility-like margins) is tempered by volatile/often negative free cash flow from heavy investment needs and leverage risk; 2025 balance-sheet data inconsistencies further reduce confidence in the latest leverage picture.

Income Statement

Revenue has compounded well over the period (up from ~$488M in 2020 to ~$930M in 2025) with a clear re-acceleration in 2025, while profitability remains solid and steady for a regulated utility profile (net margin ~13%–15% across years). EBITDA margin has been consistently strong (~33%–40%), supporting dependable earnings growth (net income up from ~$71M in 2020 to ~$140M in 2025). Weaknesses include some year-to-year variability in growth (a slight revenue decline in 2023) and incomplete/misaligned margin fields in 2025 (e.g., gross profit reported as 0), which reduces transparency on that year’s cost structure.

Balance Sheet

Leverage has generally been high for most of the period, with debt running around ~1.0x equity in 2020–2024 (debt-to-equity ~0.98–1.12), which is manageable for regulated utilities but still a key balance-sheet risk if rates or capex needs rise. Equity has grown meaningfully (to ~$1.60B in 2025), and returns on equity have been stable in a utility-typical band (~7%–11%). The main concern is data inconsistency in 2025: total debt drops to ~$143M and assets are shown as 0, which conflicts with prior-year structure and makes the latest leverage picture hard to rely on.

Cash Flow

Operating cash flow has been consistently positive and trending upward over time (~$159M in 2020 to ~$234M in 2025), which supports the stability expected in a regulated gas utility. However, free cash flow has been volatile and frequently negative (notably 2021 and 2024), consistent with heavy investment needs; this can increase reliance on external financing. The cash generation versus accounting earnings is mixed (free cash flow to net income swings from negative to low to strong in 2025), and the sharp reported free-cash-flow growth in 2025 appears distorted by the prior-year negative base.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	930.00M	787.20M	670.60M	680.70M	569.97M
Gross Profit	294.10M	334.80M	255.30M	237.50M	217.93M
EBITDA	373.40M	311.70M	229.60M	228.00M	205.72M
Net Income	140.30M	118.60M	87.20M	89.80M	83.47M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	4.04B	3.58B	3.30B	2.22B	2.11B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	1.80M	7.90M	4.90M	6.20M	4.98M
Total Debt	1.64B	1.49B	1.40B	814.42M	798.07M
Total Liabilities	2.44B	2.19B	2.06B	1.38B	1.34B
Stockholders Equity	1.60B	1.39B	1.25B	832.80M	774.13M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	-214.90M	-115.90M	14.86M	30.61M	-36.42M
Operating Cash Flow	233.70M	239.40M	203.48M	158.88M	150.50M
Investing Cash Flow	-435.70M	-349.90M	-1.11B	-136.45M	-223.02M
Financing Cash Flow	195.90M	113.50M	906.61M	-21.21M	74.00M

Chesapeake Utilities Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 135.97
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CPK, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 135.97 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 132.28, above the 50-day MA of 128.06, and above the 200-day MA of 126.14, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 2.09 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 63.07 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 58.05 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for CPK.

Chesapeake Utilities Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
OGS	71 Outperform	$5.48B	20.03	8.51%	3.45%	15.06%	12.27%
SWX	70 Outperform	$6.37B	14.50	5.42%	3.07%	-23.15%	157.45%
CPK	68 Neutral	$3.25B	22.76	9.13%	2.15%	17.15%	15.00%
Sector *	66 Neutral	$17.65B	18.10	5.60%	3.62%	6.62%	11.55%
NWN	65 Neutral	$2.20B	19.17	7.20%	4.18%	11.27%	20.04%
UGI	65 Neutral	$8.03B	13.80	12.52%	3.92%	1.10%	140.04%
SR	64 Neutral	$5.41B	19.89	8.46%	3.82%	-4.50%	2.49%

Chesapeake Utilities Corporate Events

Chesapeake Utilities Posts Strong 2025 Results, Reaffirms Outlook

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation reported strong fiscal 2025 results on February 25, 2026, with net income rising to $140.3 million, or $5.97 per share, from $118.6 million, or $5.26 per share, in 2024. Adjusted EPS reached $6.01, up 11.5 percent year over year, supported by higher adjusted gross margin from regulatory initiatives, infrastructure programs, natural gas customer growth in Delmarva and Florida, transmission expansion projects, increased alternative fuel services, and favorable rate case outcomes.

The company deployed a record $470.4 million of capital in 2025, including more than $100 million expected to begin contributing to earnings in 2026 and beyond, while restoring its equity-to-total-capitalization ratio to about 50 percent by year-end. Chesapeake reaffirmed its 2024–2028 capital expenditure guidance of $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion, set 2026 capex guidance at $450 million to $500 million, and maintained its 2028 EPS target of $7.75 to $8.00, signaling continued confidence in its long-term growth trajectory and returns from the Florida City Gas acquisition and ongoing technology and infrastructure upgrades.

The most recent analyst rating on (CPK) stock is a Hold with a $140.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Chesapeake Utilities stock, see the CPK Stock Forecast page.