CPK vs NGG vs SO Stock Comparison

Chesapeake Utilities, National Grid and Southern Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CPK Chesapeake Utilities Corp
$134.72 +4.6% 1M +2.5% 1Y
Market cap
$3.25B
P/E
21.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$993.50M
Div. yield
2.10%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
3 wins
NGG National Grid Plc
$81.76 +8.4% 1M +5.9% 1Y
Market cap
$85.01B
P/E
18.6x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
3.96%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
5 wins
SO Southern Co
$92.64 +11.8% 1M -2.9% 1Y
Market cap
$106.57B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.18B
Div. yield
3.24%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionCPKNGGSOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.25B $85.01B $106.57B SO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.6x 18.6x 22.6x NGG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.6x 14.0x 19.1x NGG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.6% — +6.4% CPK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.1% — 15.4% SO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.6% — 5.1% CPK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.7x — 5.3x CPK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.10% 3.96% 3.24% NGG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.5% +5.9% -2.9% NGG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +0.6%/yr +4.7%/yr +8.1%/yr SO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.3% 22.4% 17.9% SO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 74/100 43/100 NGG

Percentile Scorecard

CPKNGGSO

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

AxisCPKNGGSO
Valuation 41 #40 of 67 56 #30 of 67 35 #44 of 67
Growth 94 #5 of 65 – 53 #31 of 65
Profitability 73 #18 of 63 – 76 #16 of 63
Financial Health 58 #27 of 63 76 #16 of 63 34 #42 of 63
Shareholder Returns 61 #27 of 67 91 #7 of 67 17 #56 of 67
Overall 65 74 43
  • CPK ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • NGG ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • SO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCPKNGGSOSPY
1 month +4.6%+8.4%+11.8% -0.2%
3 months -2.4%+1.1%-4.3% +3.9%
6 months +5.7%-6.5%-1.9% +8.2%
Year to date +8.0%+5.7%+6.2% +12.9%
1 year +2.5%+5.9%-2.9% +12.3%
3 years +52.4%+36.5%+39.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +15.1%+10.9%+11.7% +23.3%
5 years +3.0%+25.5%+47.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +0.6%+4.7%+8.1% +10.9%
10 years +113.3%+15.5%+82.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +7.9%+1.4%+6.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCPKNGGSOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.3%22.4%17.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.1%24.1%17.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.240.31-0.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.120.27-0.16 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.5%-40.9%-23.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.1%-13.0%-6.5% -1.2%
52-week high $139.06$93.93$99.11 $779.14
52-week low $118.97$73.54$82.35 $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.

MultipleCPKNGGSO
P/E now vs peer median 21.6xmedian 20.9x 18.6xmedian 20.9x 22.6xmedian 20.9x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 2.9x 3.6xmedian 2.9x 3.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.6xmedian 13.2x —median 13.2x 13.1xmedian 13.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -16.8xmedian 36.9x -29.4xmedian 36.9x -32.6xmedian 36.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.7x 1.6xmedian 1.7x 2.5xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 2.73median 2.31 —median 2.31 0.71median 2.31

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 monthsCPKNGGSO
Revenue $993.50M – $30.18B
Gross profit $669.70M – $25.14B
Operating income $271.10M – $7.31B
Net income $150.20M – $4.66B
Free cash flow -$193.50M – -$3.27B
EPS (diluted) $6.21 – $4.08
Cash & equivalents $400.00K $493.98M $2.98B
Total debt $1.69B $61.59B $295.00B
Shares (diluted) 24.17M 994.20M 1.14B
Enterprise value $3.24B $57.35B $97.62B

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
MetricCPKNGGSO
P/E 21.6x 18.6x 22.6x
P/FCF -16.8x -29.4x -32.6x
P/Operating cash flow 10.5x – 10.0x
P/S 3.3x 3.6x 3.5x
P/B 1.9x 1.6x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 1.8x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 13.6x – 13.1x
EV/EBIT 18.2x – 24.5x
EV/Revenue 5.0x – 5.9x
EV/FCF -25.5x – -54.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.0x – 16.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.73 – 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCPKNGGSO
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.6% – 6.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.9% – 3.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.3% – 5.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 1.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.7% – 1.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 23.2% – 14.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 16.4% – 8.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 19.4% – 16.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.7% – 5.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.9% – 31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 45.9% – 15.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.7% – 23.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 3.2% – -152.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -102.6% – -3.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCPKNGGSO
Gross margin 67.4% – 83.3%
EBITDA margin 36.5% – 45.2%
Operating margin 27.3% – 24.2%
Pretax margin 20.8% – 17.4%
Net margin 15.1% – 15.4%
FCF margin -19.5% – -10.8%
Operating cash flow margin 31.0% – 35.3%
Return on equity 9.0% – 9.2%
Return on assets 3.6% – 2.9%
Return on invested capital 6.6% – 5.1%
Return on capital employed 7.7% – 5.1%
Asset turnover 0.2x – 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x – 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCPKNGGSO
Debt / assets 40.4% 43.2% 46.6%
Debt / equity 1.0x 1.2x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.7x – 5.3x
Debt / FCF -8.7x – -23.1x
Liabilities / assets 59.9% 63.7% 73.9%
Equity / assets 40.1% 36.3% 26.1%
Interest coverage 3.7x – 2.3x
Current ratio 0.3x 0.8x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.7x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.34 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCPKNGGSO
Dividend yield 2.1% 4.0% 3.2%
Net buyback yield -2.4% – –
Shareholder yield -0.3% 4.0% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 42.7% – 66.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) -33.1% – -94.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) 11.7% – 4.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 19.4% – 1.2%

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.

ConsensusCPKNGGSO
Forward P/E 21.6xFY2026 14.0xFY2026 19.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.24FY2026 $5.86FY2026 $4.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.8%FY2026 +11.4%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.1% +8.9% -3.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.09BFY2026 $25.38BFY2026 $31.54BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +17.2%FY2026 +6.4%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +8.6% +8.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCPKNGGSO
Held by institutions 92.3% 6.2% 72.5%
Institutions holding 333 617 2,363
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.2% +6.6% +5.7%
Institutions buying 188 352 1,248
Institutions selling 98 159 724
Buyers to sellers 1.92 2.21 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.

CPKNGGSO
CPK 1.00 0.38 0.61
NGG 0.38 1.00 0.51
SO 0.61 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CPK, NGG and SO?

Southern (SO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) $3.25B, National Grid (NGG) $85.01B, Southern (SO) $106.57B.

Which stock is cheaper, CPK, NGG and SO?

National Grid (NGG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) 21.6x, National Grid (NGG) 18.6x, Southern (SO) 22.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, National Grid (NGG) is cheapest (Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) 21.6x, National Grid (NGG) 14.0x, Southern (SO) 19.1x). 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%, Southern (SO) +6.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Southern (SO) has the highest net margin (Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) 15.1%, Southern (SO) 15.4%). On return on invested capital, Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) leads (Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) 6.6%, Southern (SO) 5.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year National Grid (NGG) returned the most: Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) +2.5%, National Grid (NGG) +5.9%, Southern (SO) -2.9%. Over five years, Southern (SO) compounded fastest (Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) +0.6%/yr, National Grid (NGG) +4.7%/yr, Southern (SO) +8.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

National Grid (NGG) has the highest dividend yield: Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) 2.10%, National Grid (NGG) 3.96%, Southern (SO) 3.24%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Southern (SO) has been the steadiest (Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) 20.3%, National Grid (NGG) 22.4%, Southern (SO) 17.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CPK, NGG and SO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, National Grid (NGG) 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.