Tufton Capital Doubles Down on Chesapeake Utilities with $12 Million Stake, Betting on Steady Infrastructure Growth

In a notable move that bucks the trend of chasing high-flying tech stocks, Baltimore-based Tufton Capital Management has significantly bolstered its position in Chesapeake Utilities Corp. (NYSE: CPK), building a stake now valued at approximately $12 million. The firm's latest SEC filing reveals it purchased an additional 23,304 shares in late January, a transaction worth an estimated $3.07 million.

This acquisition increases Tufton's holding to 2.06% of its total 13F portfolio assets, positioning the steady utility alongside its mega-cap technology and financial holdings. The investment comes as Chesapeake's stock, while up 5.15% over the past year to $127.65 (as of January 27), has notably lagged the surging S&P 500 by roughly 11 percentage points.

Analysts see Tufton's play not as a yield chase, but as a calculated bet on stability and predictable growth. "In a market obsessed with AI and instant gratification, this is a classic contrarian, value-oriented move," says Michael Thorne, a portfolio manager at Horizon Advisors. "Tufton is paying for the visibility of regulated earnings and long-term infrastructure projects, not next quarter's hype. It's a padding for the portfolio's risk profile."

Chesapeake Utilities, serving customers in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, is deep into a capital-intensive expansion phase. Its growth is fueled by regulated rate-base increases and concrete projects—new gas distribution systems, transmission lines, and investments in renewable natural gas—rather than market sentiment. The company's recent Q3 results underscored this trajectory, with net income rising to $19.4 million. Management has reaffirmed its 2025 adjusted EPS guidance of $6.15-$6.35 and raised its capital expenditure forecast to as much as $450 million, signaling robust confidence in its project backlog.

"This is a snooze-fest masquerading as an investment thesis," retorts Sarah Chen, a vocal fintech analyst and host of the 'Market Disruptors' podcast. "While Tufton is busy buying a slow-moving utility, they're missing the exponential curves defining the real economy. A 5% annual return in this environment is a loss adjusted for real opportunity cost. It's institutional inertia at its finest."

Conversely, veteran energy sector investor David Reeves views it as prudent. "Having covered utilities for 30 years, I see this as a smart allocation," he notes. "When the next market downturn hits, the cash flows from these regulated assets will look like a fortress. Tufton isn't betting on the stock popping tomorrow; they're buying a durable piece of essential American infrastructure."

The stake highlights a growing divide in investment strategy: the chase for explosive growth versus the anchoring power of assets with predictable, government-backed returns. For Tufton, Chesapeake Utilities represents the latter—a deliberate counterweight to the volatility elsewhere in its portfolio.