South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Stock Position in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,692 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,695 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Chesapeake Energy were worth $3,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. TheStreet cut shares of Chesapeake Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.73.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Energy stock opened at $90.69 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.52. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $72.84 and a 12 month high of $91.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.89. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.95 million. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 6.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is 13.66%.

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.