Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 2,125 Shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 307,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,125 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.23% of Chesapeake Energy worth $25,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 27,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 71,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,526,000 after purchasing an additional 10,133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CHK shares. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a 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 note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Chesapeake Energy to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.17.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ CHK traded up $1.83 on Friday, reaching $73.44. 1,036,515 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,874,559. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.63. The stock has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.33. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $93.58.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last issued 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). Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 4.00%. The business had revenue of $505.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $822.54 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 73.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.00%.

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.