Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $103.58.

CHK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised Chesapeake Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:CHK opened at $87.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.52. Chesapeake Energy has a twelve month low of $72.84 and a twelve month high of $91.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.89. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.95 million. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 6.74% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.22 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.66%.

Institutional Trading of Chesapeake Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 478.3% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States. It engages in acquisition, exploration, and development of properties to produce oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs. The company holds interests in natural gas resource plays in the Marcellus Shale in the northern Appalachian Basin in Pennsylvania and the Haynesville/Bossier Shales in northwestern Louisiana.