Shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK – Get Rating) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $94.30.
Several research firms recently weighed in on CHK. TheStreet cut shares of Chesapeake Energy from a “c-” rating to a “d” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 5th. Credit Suisse Group assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Tuesday, June 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $88.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $104.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 5th.
Shares of NASDAQ:CHK opened at $78.45 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $89.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.92. The company has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.67, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Chesapeake Energy has a one year low of $48.19 and a one year high of $105.00.
Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 4th. The company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.63. Chesapeake Energy had a positive return on equity of 27.28% and a negative net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $935.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy will post 13.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 19th were given a dividend of $2.34 per share. This represents a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Energy’s previous None dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 18th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -62.89%.
Chesapeake Energy announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 20.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
In other Chesapeake Energy news, CEO Domenic J. Dell’osso, Jr. purchased 3,000 shares of Chesapeake Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $82.04 per share, for a total transaction of $246,120.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,891 shares in the company, valued at $2,944,497.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings L.P. Blackstone III sold 186,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total value of $17,910,681.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,156,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,094,887.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 9,150 shares of company stock valued at $752,048 and have sold 205,986 shares valued at $19,823,966. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 867 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 3.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 8,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Private Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 36,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,179,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period.
Chesapeake Energy Company Profile (Get Rating)
Chesapeake Energy Corporation, an independent exploration and production company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of properties for the production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs in the United States. 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; and the liquids-rich resource play in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas.