Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at KeyCorp

KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage issued a sector weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on CHK. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays began coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Mizuho upped 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. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHK opened at $82.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.33. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $88.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.51. The stock has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.50. Chesapeake Energy has a one year low of $72.84 and a one year high of $93.58.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $674.99 million. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 4.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. This is a boost from Chesapeake Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is 31.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHK. Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 11,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 9,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $716,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 90.8% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. 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.