Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) Given New $117.00 Price Target at Stephens

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) had its price target upped by Stephens from $116.00 to $117.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CHK. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an equal weight rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Mizuho reiterated a buy rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Energy has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $105.83.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Down 3.6 %

CHK stock opened at $86.68 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Chesapeake Energy has a twelve month low of $72.84 and a twelve month high of $93.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.10.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $674.99 million. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 6.74%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is 13.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 90.8% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

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.