Brokerages Set Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) Price Target at $107.17

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $107.17.

Several equities research analysts have commented on CHK shares. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ CHK opened at $73.99 on Friday. Chesapeake Energy has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $93.58. The company has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.53.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 4.00%. The firm had revenue of $505.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $822.54 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 73.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 27,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,122,000 after buying an additional 1,421 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 71,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,526,000 after buying an additional 10,133 shares in the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.