Citigroup Initiates Coverage of Chesapeake Energy With Neutral Recommendation

Investing

Published: February 9, 2023 3:53 am

Last Updated: February 9, 2023 10:54 am

On February 8, 2023, Citigroup initiated coverage of Chesapeake Energy with a Neutral recommendation.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 62.24% Upside

As of February 9, 2023, the average one-year price target for Chesapeake Energy is $133.01. The forecasts range from a low of $106.05 to a high of $168.00. The average price target represents an increase of 62.24% from its latest reported closing price of $81.98.

The projected annual revenue for Chesapeake Energy is $8,906MM, a decrease of 34.48%. The projected annual EPS is $21.27, a decrease of 8.47%.

For more in-depth coverage of Chesapeake Energy, view the free, crowd-sourced company research report on Finpedia.

Chesapeake Energy Declares $0.55 Dividend

On November 1, 2022 the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share ($2.20 annualized). Shareholders of record as of November 14, 2022 received the payment on December 1, 2022. Previously, the company paid $0.55 per share.

At the current share price of $81.98 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 2.68%. Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 5.19%, the lowest has been 1.84%, and the highest has been 11.57%. The standard deviation of yields is 3.39 (n=80).

The current dividend yield is 0.74 standard deviations below the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 0.46. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

What are large shareholders doing?

Blackstone Group holds 12,666K shares representing 9.45% ownership of the company. No change in the last quarter.

Capital World Investors holds 10,121K shares representing 7.55% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 9,492K shares, representing an increase of 6.21%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in CHK by 30.89% over the last quarter.

Oaktree Capital Management holds 9,800K shares representing 7.32% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 10,501K shares, representing a decrease of 7.15%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in CHK by 2.45% over the last quarter.

Prudential Financial holds 6,066K shares representing 4.53% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 6,205K shares, representing a decrease of 2.30%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in CHK by 21.34% over the last quarter.

Wellington Management Group Llp holds 5,271K shares representing 3.93% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 4,116K shares, representing an increase of 21.93%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in CHK by 57.37% over the last quarter.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 1011 funds or institutions reporting positions in Chesapeake Energy. This is an increase of 35 owner(s) or 3.59% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to CHK is 0.67%, an increase of 4.95%. Total shares owned by institutions decreased in the last three months by 3.11% to 156,867K shares. The put/call ratio of CHK is 0.73, indicating a bullish outlook.

Chesapeake Energy Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

Chesapeake Energy Corporation is an American exploration and production company, which is headquartered in Oklahoma City.

This article originally appeared on Fintel

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