Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) Shares Up 0.5%

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)’s stock price shot up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $89.34 and last traded at $89.01. 196,807 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 2,023,756 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CHK. Scotiabank raised 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. Barclays assumed coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark decreased their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. TheStreet downgraded Chesapeake Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.58.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $85.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.01. The company has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.52.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.89. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 6.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.95 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.66%.

Institutional Trading of Chesapeake Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHK. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 14.7% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 261,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,590,000 after purchasing an additional 33,660 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 204.0% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 19,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 13,370 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 6.6% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 13,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the third quarter worth $4,510,000. Finally, Cottage Street Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the third quarter worth $1,693,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

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.