Chesapeake Utilities Corp (CPK) will raise its quarterly dividend by 9.5 percent to $0.405 per share in 2019. Last  year the utility company hiked its dividend by 13.8 percent.

The next dividend will be payable July 5, 2019 to all shareholders of record at the close of business on June 14, 2019. A new annual rate of $1.62 per share yields 1.7% at a stock price of  $93.14 for CPK.

"We continue to seek opportunities to reinvest our retained earnings while also growing our dividend at a rate that represents top quartile performance. Over the last five years, we have made significant capital investments that have fueled our earnings growth.  The Board's decision to increase the annualized dividend by $0.14 per share, or 9.5 percent, aligns our five-year earnings growth rate of 8.8 percent with our five-year dividend growth rate of 8.4 percent including this most recent increase," said Jeff Householder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation. Chesapeake has paid dividends to its shareholders without interruption for 58 years. During those 58 years, Chesapeake has either maintained or increased its annualized dividend.

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation an energy delivery company engaged in the distribution of natural gas, propane and electricity; the transmission of natural gas; the generation of electricity and steam, and in providing related services to its customers. Chesapeake Utilities has operations primarily in the Mid-Atlantic region, Florida and Ohio. The company operates within two reportable segments: Regulated Energy and Unregulated Energy. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation is a Delaware corporation formed in 1947. A dividend has been paid to shareholders every year since 1961.