CPK vs AEP vs XEL Stock Comparison

Chesapeake Utilities, American Electric Power and Xcel Energy Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CPK Chesapeake Utilities Corp
$134.06 +5.4% 1M +1.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.23B
P/E
21.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$993.50M
Div. yield
2.11%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
5 wins
XEL Xcel Energy Inc
$77.18 +11.2% 1M -3.3% 1Y
Market cap
$48.19B
P/E
21.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.62B
Div. yield
3.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Chesapeake Utilities leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Chesapeake Utilities 5, Xcel Energy 4, American Electric Power 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCPKAEPXELLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.23B $69.79B $48.19B AEP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.5x 25.3x 21.6x CPK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.5x 21.3x 17.9x XEL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.6% +10.3% +4.7% CPK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.1% 12.1% 15.3% XEL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.6% 5.5% 4.5% CPK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.7x 6.0x 6.4x CPK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.11% 2.96% 3.03% XEL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.7% +11.4% -3.3% AEP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +0.5%/yr +8.6%/yr +3.6%/yr AEP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.3% 19.4% 19.2% XEL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 40/100 16/100 CPK

Percentile Scorecard

CPKAEPXEL

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCPKAEPXEL
Valuation 39 #41 of 67 24 #51 of 67 5 #64 of 67
Growth 94 #5 of 65 64 #24 of 65 16 #55 of 65
Profitability 74 #17 of 62 57 #27 of 62 30 #44 of 62
Financial Health 59 #26 of 62 28 #45 of 62 30 #44 of 62
Shareholder Returns 59 #28 of 67 29 #48 of 67 0 #67 of 67
Overall 65 40 16
  • CPK ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • AEP ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • XEL ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCPKAEPXELSPY
1 month +5.4%+8.5%+11.2% +0.9%
3 months -2.0%-0.9%-2.0% +5.9%
6 months +7.1%-4.6%-2.1% +8.5%
Year to date +7.5%+11.2%+4.5% +13.3%
1 year +1.7%+11.4%-3.3% +12.4%
3 years +51.7%+71.1%+32.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year +14.9%+19.6%+9.8% +23.5%
5 years +2.3%+51.3%+19.5% +68.2%
5 years, per year +0.5%+8.6%+3.6% +11.0%
10 years +112.5%+102.2%+89.7% +263.4%
10 years, per year +7.8%+7.3%+6.6% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCPKAEPXELSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.3%19.4%19.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.1%19.3%19.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.24-0.07-0.02 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.080.59-0.17 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.5%-32.2%-37.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.6%-7.6%-8.0% -0.9%
52-week high $139.06$138.69$83.91 $779.14
52-week low $118.97$113.70$69.39 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCPKAEPXEL
P/E now vs peer median 21.5xmedian 20.8x 25.3xmedian 20.8x 21.6xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 2.9x 3.1xmedian 2.9x 3.3xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.6xmedian 13.1x 13.9xmedian 13.1x 14.7xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -16.7xmedian 35.3x -12.1xmedian 35.3x -6.3xmedian 35.3x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.7x 2.1xmedian 1.7x 2.0xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 2.72median 2.18 2.73median 2.18 5.06median 2.18

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCPKAEPXEL
Revenue $993.50M $22.79B $14.62B
Gross profit $669.70M $15.43B –
Operating income $271.10M $5.24B $2.79B
Net income $150.20M $3.07B $2.23B
Free cash flow -$193.50M -$5.75B -$7.69B
EPS (diluted) $6.21 $5.02 $3.56
Cash & equivalents $400.00K $375.00M $2.01B
Total debt $1.69B $52.84B $39.46B
Shares (diluted) 24.17M 550.63M 627.00M
Enterprise value $3.22B $68.17B $43.10B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCPKAEPXEL
P/E 21.5x 25.3x 21.6x
P/FCF -16.7x -12.1x -6.3x
P/Operating cash flow 10.5x 9.1x 10.1x
P/S 3.3x 3.1x 3.3x
P/B 1.9x 2.1x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 1.9x 2.1x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 13.6x 13.9x 14.7x
EV/EBIT 18.1x 23.3x 30.7x
EV/Revenue 5.0x 5.4x 5.9x
EV/FCF -25.4x -21.2x -11.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.0x 15.9x 17.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.72 2.73 5.06

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCPKAEPXEL
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.6% 10.3% 4.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.9% 5.4% -1.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.3% 8.1% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 7.8% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.7% 2.2% 11.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 23.2% 19.5% 4.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 16.4% -17.4% 7.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 19.4% 15.7% 8.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.7% 5.2% 1.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.9% 9.2% 4.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 45.9% 17.1% 5.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.7% 22.6% 2.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 3.2% -63.5% -97.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -102.6% -19.1% -112.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCPKAEPXEL
Gross margin 67.4% 67.7% –
EBITDA margin 36.5% 38.4% 39.9%
Operating margin 27.3% 23.0% 19.1%
Pretax margin 20.8% 15.4% 13.7%
Net margin 15.1% 12.1% 15.3%
FCF margin -19.5% -25.2% -52.6%
Operating cash flow margin 31.0% 33.8% 32.6%
Return on equity 9.0% 9.6% 9.3%
Return on assets 3.6% 2.7% 2.6%
Return on invested capital 6.6% 5.5% 4.5%
Return on capital employed 7.7% 5.0% 3.6%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 2.5x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% – 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCPKAEPXEL
Debt / assets 40.4% 43.5% 45.3%
Debt / equity 1.0x 1.6x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.7x 6.0x 6.4x
Debt / FCF -8.7x -9.2x -5.1x
Liabilities / assets 59.9% 72.6% 72.4%
Equity / assets 40.1% 27.4% 27.6%
Interest coverage 3.7x 2.4x 1.7x
Current ratio 0.3x 0.5x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.0x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.34 0.92 0.85

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCPKAEPXEL
Dividend yield 2.1% 3.0% 3.0%
Net buyback yield -2.4% – -4.6%
Shareholder yield -0.3% 3.0% -1.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 42.7% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) -33.1% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 11.7% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 19.4% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCPKAEPXEL
Forward P/E 21.5xFY2026 21.3xFY2026 17.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.24FY2026 $6.01FY2026 $4.30FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.8%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026 +13.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.1% +19.0% +2.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.09BFY2026 $23.09BFY2026 $16.60BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +17.2%FY2026 +5.5%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +3.5% +8.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCPKAEPXEL
Held by institutions 92.3% 92.1% 95.4%
Institutions holding 333 1,985 1,285
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.2% +13.2% +7.3%
Institutions buying 188 1,065 664
Institutions selling 98 584 386
Buyers to sellers 1.92 1.82 1.72

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CPKAEPXEL
CPK 1.00 0.54 0.53
AEP 0.54 1.00 0.78
XEL 0.53 0.78 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CPK, AEP and XEL?

American Electric Power (AEP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) $3.23B, American Electric Power (AEP) $69.79B, Xcel Energy (XEL) $48.19B.

Which stock is cheaper, CPK, AEP and XEL?

Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) 21.5x, American Electric Power (AEP) 25.3x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 21.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Xcel Energy (XEL) is cheapest (Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) 21.5x, American Electric Power (AEP) 21.3x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 17.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) +14.6%, American Electric Power (AEP) +10.3%, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Xcel Energy (XEL) has the highest net margin (Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) 15.1%, American Electric Power (AEP) 12.1%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 15.3%). On return on invested capital, Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) leads (Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) 6.6%, American Electric Power (AEP) 5.5%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 4.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Electric Power (AEP) returned the most: Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) +1.7%, American Electric Power (AEP) +11.4%, Xcel Energy (XEL) -3.3%. Over five years, American Electric Power (AEP) compounded fastest (Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) +0.5%/yr, American Electric Power (AEP) +8.6%/yr, Xcel Energy (XEL) +3.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Xcel Energy (XEL) has the highest dividend yield: Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) 2.11%, American Electric Power (AEP) 2.96%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 3.03%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Xcel Energy (XEL) has been the steadiest (Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) 20.3%, American Electric Power (AEP) 19.4%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 19.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CPK, AEP and XEL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.