Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $99.92.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Chesapeake Energy to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $111.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th.

Institutional Trading of Chesapeake Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. BOKF NA acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 75.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 895.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 1,384.8% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Energy stock opened at $81.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Chesapeake Energy has a 52 week low of $69.12 and a 52 week high of $93.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.45. The company has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.47.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.01). Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 4.00% and a net margin of 8.68%. The company had revenue of $505.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $822.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. Chesapeake Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 73.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is 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.