Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) Shares Purchased by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 16.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 284,263 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 39,734 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Chesapeake Energy were worth $23,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CHK. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Chesapeake Energy by 112.6% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,037,000 after acquiring an additional 20,910 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in Chesapeake Energy by 1,207.7% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 640,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,264,000 after buying an additional 11,133 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter worth $975,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $1,006,000. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CHK. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com raised Chesapeake Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of 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 began coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.69.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

CHK stock traded up $0.89 during trading on Thursday, hitting $73.06. 1,155,856 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,901,399. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $93.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.47.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 4.00% and a net margin of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $505.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $822.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Chesapeake Energy’s revenue was down 73.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.00%.

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.