Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Position in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK – Get Rating) by 99.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,203 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,990 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Chesapeake Energy worth $8,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CHK. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in Chesapeake Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 184.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 292.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 338.8% during the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 5,655.6% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. TheStreet upgraded Chesapeake Energy from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Chesapeake Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 25th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Stephens initiated coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Monday, April 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $112.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.54.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Up 3.3 %

CHK opened at $79.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.65. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $69.68 and a 52 week high of $107.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $77.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $3.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 29.75% and a net margin of 50.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 18th will be paid a $1.18 dividend. This is an increase from Chesapeake Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $4.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.92%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 17th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.58%.

Chesapeake Energy Company Profile

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Chesapeake Energy Corporation, an independent exploration and production company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of properties for the production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs in the United States. 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; and the liquids-rich resource play in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas.