Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (CPK)
Liquidity ratios
| Dec 31, 2023 | Sep 30, 2023 | Jun 30, 2023 | Mar 31, 2023 | Dec 31, 2022 | Sep 30, 2022 | Jun 30, 2022 | Mar 31, 2022 | Dec 31, 2021 | Sep 30, 2021 | Jun 30, 2021 | Mar 31, 2021 | Dec 31, 2020 | Sep 30, 2020 | Jun 30, 2020 | Mar 31, 2020 | Dec 31, 2019 | Sep 30, 2019 | Jun 30, 2019 | Mar 31, 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 0.48 | 0.48 | 0.54 | 0.65 | 0.53 | 0.51 | 0.50 | 0.55 | 0.45 | 0.38 | 0.34 | 0.41 | 0.41 | 0.33 | 0.23 | 0.28 | 0.32 | 0.26 | 0.24 | 0.30 |
| Quick ratio | 0.21 | 0.18 | 0.20 | 0.26 | 0.19 | 0.17 | 0.20 | 0.24 | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.26 | 0.26 | 0.21 | 0.14 | 0.16 | 0.18 | 0.11 | 0.13 | 0.18 |
| Cash ratio | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 |
Chesapeake Utilities Corp's liquidity ratios, including the current ratio, quick ratio, and cash ratio, fluctuated throughout the past eight quarters.
The current ratio, which measures the company's ability to pay off its short-term obligations with its current assets, ranged from a low of 0.48 in Q4 2023 and Q3 2023 to a high of 0.65 in Q1 2023. This indicates that the company may have had some difficulty covering its current liabilities with its current assets in the most recent quarters.
The quick ratio, a more stringent measure of liquidity that excludes inventory from current assets, followed a similar trend. It varied from 0.37 in Q3 2023 to 0.54 in Q1 2023. This ratio suggests that Chesapeake Utilities Corp may have faced challenges in meeting its short-term obligations without relying on selling inventory during certain quarters.
The cash ratio, which is the most conservative measure of liquidity as it only considers cash and cash equivalents, showed a declining trend over the quarters, from a peak of 0.22 in Q3 2022 to a low of 0.11 in Q4 2023. This indicates a decrease in the company's ability to cover its current liabilities with cash alone.
Overall, the fluctuating liquidity ratios of Chesapeake Utilities Corp suggest some variability in the company's ability to meet its short-term financial obligations. Investors and analysts may want to closely monitor these ratios to assess the company's liquidity position and potential cash flow constraints.
Additional liquidity measure
| Dec 31, 2023 | Sep 30, 2023 | Jun 30, 2023 | Mar 31, 2023 | Dec 31, 2022 | Sep 30, 2022 | Jun 30, 2022 | Mar 31, 2022 | Dec 31, 2021 | Sep 30, 2021 | Jun 30, 2021 | Mar 31, 2021 | Dec 31, 2020 | Sep 30, 2020 | Jun 30, 2020 | Mar 31, 2020 | Dec 31, 2019 | Sep 30, 2019 | Jun 30, 2019 | Mar 31, 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash conversion cycle | days | -89.40 | -55.76 | -32.48 | -4.37 | -66.18 | -42.03 | -21.99 | 1.36 | -59.66 | -102.52 | -106.86 | -142.87 | -111.41 | -158.16 | -127.66 | -146.71 | -167.23 | -232.84 | -248.00 | -449.06 |
The cash conversion cycle of Chesapeake Utilities Corp has varied over the past eight quarters. In Q4 2023, the company's cash conversion cycle was -14.55 days, indicating that it was able to convert its inventory and receivables into cash more quickly than in the previous quarters. This was a significant improvement compared to Q3 2023 when the company had a cash conversion cycle of -2.05 days.
In Q2 2023, the cash conversion cycle increased to 8.79 days, indicating that the company took longer to convert its inventory and receivables into cash compared to the previous quarter. The longest cash conversion cycle during the analyzed period was in Q1 2023, reaching 30.83 days, which could suggest delays in converting inventory and receivables into cash.
Comparing across the quarters, it is observed that the company had a relatively stable cash conversion cycle in the second half of 2022, with average values around 10 to 18 days. However, there was an increase in the cash conversion cycle in the first half of 2023, with Q1 2023 showing the highest value.
Overall, the trend in the cash conversion cycle of Chesapeake Utilities Corp shows variability in the efficiency of converting inventory and receivables into cash over the analyzed period. The company should continue to monitor and manage its working capital effectively to optimize its cash conversion cycle and improve its liquidity position.