Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK - Get Rating) has been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $92.00.
A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CHK. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $104.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 5th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Monday, January 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Chesapeake Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 5th. Siebert Williams Shank initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Monday, December 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Friday, February 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company.
Shares of NASDAQ:CHK opened at $84.09 on Tuesday. Chesapeake Energy has a 12 month low of $45.32 and a 12 month high of $97.61. The firm's 50-day moving average is $82.82 and its 200 day moving average is $71.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.
Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK - Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 23rd. The company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.40 by ($0.01). Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 160.87% and a net margin of 108.93%. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($42.54) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy will post 12.46 earnings per share for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.438 per share. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 4th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%.
In other news, major shareholder Holdings L.P. Blackstone III sold 186,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total transaction of $17,910,681.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,156,830 shares in the company, valued at $400,094,887.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 286.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,934,374 shares of the company's stock valued at $242,317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,915,038 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 18.0% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,512,315 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,471 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 2,028.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,214,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157,502 shares during the period. Scout Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter valued at about $96,542,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 2,895.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 984,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,606,000 after purchasing an additional 951,181 shares during the period.
Chesapeake Energy Company Profile (Get Rating)
Chesapeake Energy Corporation, an independent exploration and production company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of properties for the production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs in the United States. 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; and the liquids-rich resource play in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas.
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