Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) was upgraded by analysts at Vetr from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $7.06 price target on the oil and gas exploration company's stock. Vetr's price target suggests a potential upside of 6.97% from the company's current price.
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dynamic Capital Management Ltd increased its position in Chesapeake Energy Corp. by 1,100.8% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Capital Management Ltd now owns 319,503 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $1,438,000 after buying an additional 292,895 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LLC purchased a new position in Chesapeake Energy Corp. during the fourth quarter worth about $10,567,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Chesapeake Energy Corp. during the fourth quarter worth about $25,055,000. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in Chesapeake Energy Corp. by 4.4% in the first quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 436,587 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 18,485 shares during the period. Finally, Exane Derivatives increased its position in Chesapeake Energy Corp. by 2,356.1% in the first quarter. Exane Derivatives now owns 24,561 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 23,561 shares during the period.
In other news, Director Archie W. Dunham acquired 350,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.07 per share, for a total transaction of $2,124,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,127,951 shares in the company, valued at $18,986,662.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas L. Ryan acquired 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.59 per share, with a total value of $279,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 246,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,376,643.71. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.
Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. opened at 6.60 on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. Chesapeake Energy Corp. has a 52 week low of $1.50 and a 52 week high of $9.55. The firm's 50 day moving average is $5.50 and its 200-day moving average is $4.70. The firm's market cap is $5.06 billion.
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE:CHK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters' consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. The business's quarterly revenue was down 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.11) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Chesapeake Energy Corp. will post ($0.21) EPS for the current year.
Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. S&P Equity Research reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. in a report on Thursday, August 18th. Deutsche Bank) increased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 18th. Barclays PLC set a $3.00 price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 16th. Capital One upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 16th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.44.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) (Chesapeake) is a producer of natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the United States. The Company operates in two segments: Exploration and Production, and Marketing, Gathering and Compression. The exploration and production segment is responsible for finding and producing oil, natural gas and NGL.