Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Stake in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 307,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,125 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Chesapeake Energy were worth $25,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 90.8% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter worth about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, BOKF NA bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Up 2.6 %

Chesapeake Energy stock traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,036,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,874,559. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.63. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $93.58.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.01 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $822.54 million. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 4.00%. The business’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 business earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CHK shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Benchmark cut 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. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.17.

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.