Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Purchases 2,881 Shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK – Get Rating) by 134.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,022 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,881 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Chesapeake Energy were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in Chesapeake Energy during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 184.6% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 292.0% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 338.8% during the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 91.4% during the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $155.00 to $129.00 in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Monday, April 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark lowered their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Chesapeake Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.54.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of CHK stock opened at $81.82 on Tuesday. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $69.68 and a 1 year high of $107.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.87. The company has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 1.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.65.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $3.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 prior year, the firm posted $3.09 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.18 per share. This is a boost from Chesapeake Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 17th. This represents a $4.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.77%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.58%.

About Chesapeake Energy

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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.