Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $106.67.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays started coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 233.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,059,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $804,769,000 after buying an additional 6,338,963 shares in the last quarter. Scout Investments Inc. bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,079,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in Chesapeake Energy by 13.4% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,599,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,900,000 after purchasing an additional 307,814 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,958,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,723,000 after purchasing an additional 265,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,852,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,108,311,000 after purchasing an additional 257,880 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:CHK opened at $83.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.79. Chesapeake Energy has a 1 year low of $72.84 and a 1 year high of $93.58.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.08). Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 4.87% and a net margin of 16.42%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $674.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This is an increase from Chesapeake Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is currently 31.00%.

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.