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

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) had its price target lowered by Benchmark from $107.00 to $93.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on CHK. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a sector weight rating for the company. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $105.83.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ CHK traded down $0.12 on Thursday, hitting $86.67. 2,836,734 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,684,417. The company has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $86.65 and its 200 day moving average is $82.15. Chesapeake Energy has a 52 week low of $72.84 and a 52 week high of $93.58.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $674.99 million. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 4.87%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. This is a boost from Chesapeake Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.00%.

Institutional Trading of Chesapeake Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 215.0% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 9,604 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 3.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 185,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,999,000 after acquiring an additional 5,857 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 4.8% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,235,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,029,000 after purchasing an additional 427,181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.