Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 39,574 Shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 243,119 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,574 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.19% of Chesapeake Energy worth $18,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CHK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,852,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,108,311,000 after purchasing an additional 257,880 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,104,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,947,000 after buying an additional 936,169 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 15.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,235,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,029,000 after purchasing an additional 427,181 shares in the last quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC increased its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC now owns 3,153,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,959,000 after purchasing an additional 439,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 18.6% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,723,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,844,000 after purchasing an additional 426,560 shares in the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CHK. Citigroup upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $82.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet cut shares of Chesapeake Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Chesapeake Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of CHK stock opened at $87.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.47 billion, a PE ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.00. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $72.84 and a fifty-two week high of $91.03.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.95 million. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 6.74% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.22 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.66%.

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.