Hodges Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,980 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,174 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Chesapeake Energy worth $12,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHK. Scout Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Chesapeake Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $32,079,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 190.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 620,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,502,000 after buying an additional 407,082 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 57.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 870,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,039,000 after buying an additional 319,021 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,958,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,723,000 after buying an additional 265,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,852,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,108,311,000 after buying an additional 257,880 shares in the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ CHK traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $82.19. 1,814,831 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,558,353. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.56. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $72.84 and a 1-year high of $93.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.33.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $674.99 million. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 16.42% and a return on equity of 4.87%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Chesapeake Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CHK. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.