Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $107.17.

A number of research firms have recently commented on CHK. Stephens boosted their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aurora Investment Counsel increased its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 11,930 shares of the company's stock worth $1,060,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 13,895 shares of the company's stock worth $1,142,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 10,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

CHK stock traded up $1.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.44. 1,035,770 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,874,559. Chesapeake Energy has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $93.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 0.47.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $505.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $822.54 million. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 4.00% and a net margin of 8.68%. Chesapeake Energy's revenue was down 73.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Chesapeake Energy's payout ratio is 31.00%.

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.