Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) Given New $93.00 Price Target at Benchmark

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) had its price objective cut by Benchmark from $107.00 to $93.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on CHK. Mizuho raised their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup raised shares of Chesapeake Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $105.83.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of CHK stock opened at $86.67 on Thursday. Chesapeake Energy has a fifty-two week low of $72.84 and a fifty-two week high of $93.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $86.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.05. The stock has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last posted 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 4.87%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $674.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CHK. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Chesapeake Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 90.8% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 97.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.