Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK – Get Rating) in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $125.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CHK. Citigroup assumed coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. They set a neutral rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Chesapeake Energy from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $155.00 to $129.00 in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $118.70.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

Chesapeake Energy stock opened at $72.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Chesapeake Energy has a 52 week low of $69.68 and a 52 week high of $107.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.59 and a 200-day moving average of $93.06.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.96 by $1.26. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 37.70% and a net margin of 42.03%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a None dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 6th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is 6.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $513,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 128,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,133,000 after purchasing an additional 32,406 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 46,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,891,000. Finally, Insight Advisors LLC PA boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter.

About Chesapeake Energy

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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.