Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) Shares Down 0.4%

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)’s stock price was down 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $89.89 and last traded at $90.32. Approximately 221,039 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 2,021,451 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CHK shares. Citigroup raised Chesapeake Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. KeyCorp started coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Chesapeake Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.73.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.07. The company has a market cap of $11.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.89. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 6.74% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Adirondack Trust Co. bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.