Wellington Management Group LLP Decreases Stock Holdings in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,921,820 shares of the company’s stock after selling 270,689 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 3.76% of Chesapeake Energy worth $378,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the third quarter valued at $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 1,207.7% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ CHK opened at $84.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.22. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $72.84 and a 52-week high of $93.58. The company has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.50.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.08). Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 4.87%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $674.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This is a boost from Chesapeake Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CHK. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chesapeake Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.67.

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.