Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) to Issue Dividend Increase - $0.72 Per Share

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 30th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.715 per share on Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This is an increase from Chesapeake Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58.

Chesapeake Energy has a payout ratio of 29.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Chesapeake Energy to earn $5.81 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.6%.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHK traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $86.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,047,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,056,053. The company has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Chesapeake Energy has a 1 year low of $72.84 and a 1 year high of $93.58.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.08). Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 4.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $674.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a "sector weight" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.83.

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.