Barclays Begins Coverage on Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK)

Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on CHK. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Johnson Rice downgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy from a buy rating to an accumulate rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Energy presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Energy stock opened at $88.59 on Wednesday. Chesapeake Energy has a 52 week low of $72.84 and a 52 week high of $91.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.90. The stock has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a PE ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.52.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.95 million. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 6.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 13.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 261,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,590,000 after buying an additional 33,660 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 204.0% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 19,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 13,370 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position 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 bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,510,000. Finally, Cottage Street Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,693,000. 97.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.