Brandes Investment Partners LP Sells 144,560 Shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Brandes Investment Partners LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 76.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,434 shares of the company’s stock after selling 144,560 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Chesapeake Energy were worth $3,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CHK. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 705.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,402,000 after purchasing an additional 25,600 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,006,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 66.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 119,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,612,000 after acquiring an additional 47,658 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 16.2% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 284,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,364,000 after purchasing an additional 39,734 shares during the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

CHK opened at $82.25 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.61. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $69.12 and a 1-year high of $93.58. The stock has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $505.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was down 73.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on CHK. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho lowered their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $111.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. KeyCorp began coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Chesapeake Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.33.

Chesapeake Energy 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.