Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Roth Capital

Roth Capital upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Zacks.com reports.

CHK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stephens upped their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $93.00 to $85.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a sector weight rating on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $100.33.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CHK opened at $82.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. Chesapeake Energy has a 1 year low of $69.12 and a 1 year high of $93.58. The company has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.61.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.01). Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 4.00%. The company had revenue of $505.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $822.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 73.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Chesapeake Energy by 705.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,402,000 after acquiring an additional 25,600 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $1,006,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 66.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 119,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,612,000 after purchasing an additional 47,658 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 16.2% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 284,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,364,000 after buying an additional 39,734 shares during the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is currently 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.