State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Decreases Stake in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,943 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,559 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Chesapeake Energy were worth $4,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Chesapeake Energy during the third quarter valued at $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new position in Chesapeake Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 730 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the fourth quarter worth $86,000. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp started coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. 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 report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.73.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ CHK traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $92.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,515,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,031,055. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $72.84 and a 12-month high of $92.25. 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 company has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $85.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.14.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.89. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 6.74% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.66%.

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.