Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.72 Per Share

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 30th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.715 per share on Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a boost from Chesapeake Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58.

Chesapeake Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 29.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Chesapeake Energy to earn $5.81 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.6%.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHK traded down $0.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $86.45. The stock had a trading volume of 600,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,038,240. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $86.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.10. The stock has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.51. Chesapeake Energy has a 1-year low of $72.84 and a 1-year high of $93.58.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $674.99 million. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 4.89% and a net margin of 16.42%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.83.

Chesapeake Energy Company Profile

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.