Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) is set to report third-quarter 2019 results on Nov 7, before market open. In the last reported quarter, the company reported a negative earnings surprise of 7.4%.
Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to the announcement.
Factors to Consider
Chesapeake Utilities’ acquisitions of the Ohl Propane and Marlin Gas Services in December 2018 as well as the Eastern Shore Systems expansion have been contributing to gross margin. Also, the natural gas expansion projects in the Delmarva and Florida regions are expected to have boosted third-quarter margins.
Meanwhile, the company’s interest expenses rose in the first half of 2019 due to higher rates on borrowings. This trend is likely to have persisted in the to-be-reported quarter as well.
Q3 Expectations
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter revenues is pegged at $170.2 million, indicating a 21.3% increase from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. Meanwhile, the consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at 37 cents, suggesting an 8.8% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s level.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model doesn’t conclusively predict an earnings beat for Chesapeake Utilities this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here.
Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: Chesapeake Utilities carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
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