Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) Receives $103.58 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $103.58.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CHK. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Mizuho reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHK. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 23.2% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 44.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 28,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 8,578 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 20,980.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 64.3% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 287,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,976,000 after purchasing an additional 112,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter valued at about $569,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:CHK traded up $0.19 on Friday, hitting $87.51. 1,217,226 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,419,442. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99. Chesapeake Energy has a 52 week low of $72.84 and a 52 week high of $91.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.52. The company's 50-day moving average price is $84.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.97.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.89. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 6.74%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Chesapeake Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.66%.

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.