Chesapeake Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:CHK)

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 4,239 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 62% compared to the average volume of 2,613 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Chesapeake Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 60,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,729,000 after buying an additional 4,922 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 112.6% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,037,000 after purchasing an additional 20,910 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $1,050,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 10,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Chesapeake Energy stock opened at $73.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.02 and a 200-day moving average of $82.84. Chesapeake Energy has a one year low of $69.12 and a one year high of $93.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 0.46.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 4.00%. The company had revenue of $505.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $822.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 73.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHK has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Chesapeake Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Mizuho cut their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $111.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.67.

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.