Roth Capital Upgrades Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) to Strong-Buy

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) was upgraded by investment analysts at Roth Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

CHK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $93.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho cut their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $111.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Chesapeake Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.33.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

Chesapeake Energy stock opened at $82.60 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. Chesapeake Energy has a one year low of $69.12 and a one year high of $93.58.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 233.0% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 28.8% in the second quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC now owns 3,694,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,682,000 after purchasing an additional 827,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 18.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,333,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,005,000 after purchasing an additional 510,664 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 247.9% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 687,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,543,000 after purchasing an additional 490,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scout Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter worth $32,079,000. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.