Cannell & Co. Buys 58,253 Shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Cannell & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 824,782 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,253 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Energy makes up 2.0% of Cannell & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Cannell & Co.’s holdings in Chesapeake Energy were worth $63,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 9,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $716,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Down 3.8 %

NASDAQ CHK traded down $3.46 on Wednesday, reaching $86.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,541,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,024,943. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day moving average is $86.43 and its 200 day moving average is $82.10. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $72.84 and a 52-week high of $93.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $674.99 million. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 6.74% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHK has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup raised Chesapeake Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $82.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.