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

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

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup raised Chesapeake Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, January 12th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a sector weight rating on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Benchmark lowered 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 given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Energy has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $105.83.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

CHK opened at $86.67 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.51. Chesapeake Energy has a 1 year low of $72.84 and a 1 year high of $93.58.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.08). Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 4.87%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $674.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is currently 31.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,104,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,947,000 after acquiring an additional 936,169 shares in the last quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 16.2% during the third quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC now owns 3,153,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,959,000 after purchasing an additional 439,186 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Chesapeake Energy by 15.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,235,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,029,000 after purchasing an additional 427,181 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,723,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,844,000 after buying an additional 426,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scout Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $32,079,000. Institutional investors 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.