Denali Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Denali Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 29.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,086 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,702 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Energy were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 1,207.7% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ CHK opened at $83.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.47. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $72.84 and a fifty-two week high of $93.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.33.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $674.99 million. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 4.87% and a net margin of 16.42%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is presently 31.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.67.

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.