Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.72

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 30th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.715 per share on Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58.

Chesapeake Energy has a payout ratio of 29.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Chesapeake Energy to earn $5.81 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.6%.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CHK traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $86.51. 254,803 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,033,663. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.10. The company has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99. Chesapeake Energy has a twelve month low of $72.84 and a twelve month high of $93.58.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $674.99 million. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 4.89% and a net margin of 16.42%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Research analysts predict that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CHK. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup raised Chesapeake Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. KeyCorp started coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.83.

Chesapeake Energy Company Profile

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.