Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) To Post Q2 Earnings: What's Up?

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK) is set to report second-quarter 2019 results on Aug 8, before market open. In the last reported quarter, the company witnessed a positive earnings surprise of 5%.

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 will continue to boost its gross margin.

Natural gas expansion projects like Eastern Shore system and Western Palm Beach County are expected to contribute to 2019 annual margins.We believe that these projects will boost margins in the quarter to be reported.

Q2 Expectation

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for total revenues in the second quarter is pegged at $169.4 million, indicating a rise of 23.96% on a year-over-year basis. For quarterly earnings, the consensus mark is pegged at 54 cents, suggesting a 12.5% rise on a year-over-year basis.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively predict a positive earnings surprise for Chesapeake Utilities in the quarter to be reported. This is because a stock needs to have — a positive Earnings ESP and a favorable Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) — for this to happen. That is not the case here as you will see below. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Earnings ESP: Chesapeake Utilities has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% as the Most Accurate Estimate matches the Zacks Consensus Estimate. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3, which when combined with a 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult and uncertain.

We caution against Sell-rated stocks (#4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some players from the Utilities sector that have the right combination of elements to beat estimates this time around.

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) has an Earnings ESP of +0.75% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is scheduled to report second-quarter 2019 results on Aug 5.

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) has an Earnings ESP of +1.18% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is set to release second-quarter 2019 results on Aug 6.

Recent Release

ONEOK Inc. (NYSE:OKE) reported second-quarter 2019 operating earnings of 75 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 70 cents by 7.14%.

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