Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) Reaches New 12-Month High at $91.03

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $91.03 and last traded at $90.80, with a volume of 263356 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $90.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. TheStreet lowered shares of Chesapeake Energy from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Chesapeake Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.56.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.52. The business's fifty day moving average is $81.84 and its 200-day moving average is $81.61.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.89. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 6.74%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Chesapeake Energy's payout ratio is currently 13.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Chesapeake Energy by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,341 shares of the company's stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Chesapeake Energy by 2.0% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,159 shares of the company's stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in Chesapeake Energy by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,761 shares of the company's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Chesapeake Energy by 6.2% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,812 shares of the company's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company's stock.

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.