Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) Shares Sold by M&G Plc

M&G Plc cut its position in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 96.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,301 shares of the company’s stock after selling 133,669 shares during the period. M&G Plc’s holdings in Chesapeake Energy were worth $435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 233.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,059,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $804,769,000 after buying an additional 6,338,963 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,317,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,221,000 after acquiring an additional 213,235 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 13.4% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,599,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,900,000 after purchasing an additional 307,814 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,958,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,723,000 after purchasing an additional 265,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cannell & Co. increased its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Cannell & Co. now owns 824,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,459,000 after purchasing an additional 58,253 shares during the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHK opened at $72.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $81.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.95. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $93.58. The company has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.47.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $505.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $822.54 million. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 4.00%. Chesapeake Energy’s revenue was down 73.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CHK. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. KeyCorp began coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Mizuho raised their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.69.

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.