Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) Stock Price Up 0.5%

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)’s share price traded up 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $89.34 and last traded at $89.01. 196,807 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 2,023,756 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CHK shares. Citigroup raised shares of Chesapeake Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $82.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.73.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.14.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.95 million. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 6.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.22 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 90.8% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 97.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.