Chesapeake Utilities Corp (CPK) will raise its quarterly dividend by 8.6 percent to $0.44 per share in 2020. Last  year the utility company hiked its dividend by 9.5 percent to $0.405 per share, marking the 16th consecutive year of dividend increases.

The next dividend will be payable July 6, 2020 to all shareholders of record at the close of business on June 15, 2020. A new annual rate of $1.76 per share yields 2.1% at a stock price of  $84.47 for Chesapeake Utilities.

"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 while providing dividend growth in the top 10 percent of the utility industry. The $0.14 per share increase in the annualized dividend aligns our five-year earnings growth rate of 9.4 percent from continuing operations with our five-year dividend growth rate of 8.9 percent including this most recent increase," said Jeff Householder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation in the company's press release today announcing this dividend hike.

"The Board's dividend decision reflects the Company's commitment to dividend growth supported by earnings growth, while still maintaining ample liquidity to drive growth and fund operations. The Board and the entire organization reiterate our unwavering commitment to keeping employees, their families, our customers and our communities as safe as possible during these unprecedented times.  Chesapeake Utilities provides an essential service to our customers and we are doing everything we can to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of energy services upon which our customers and communities rely," Mr. Householder added in the press release dated May 7, 2020.

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.