Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $59.03 Million Stake in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its stake in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 767,211 shares of the company’s stock after selling 216,052 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.59% of Chesapeake Energy worth $59,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Chesapeake Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 1,207.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 160.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark decreased their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Stephens boosted their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays initiated 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 for the company. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CHK opened at $83.95 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $88.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.25. The firm has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $72.84 and a 1-year high of $93.58.

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

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This is an increase from Chesapeake Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.