3,429 Shares in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) Acquired by Balboa Wealth Partners

Balboa Wealth Partners acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 523.3% in the 1st quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 339,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,836,000 after purchasing an additional 285,251 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter valued at about $1,303,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 14.5% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter worth about $11,429,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 28,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 4,898 shares in the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on CHK shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. TheStreet raised Chesapeake Energy from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $83.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Chesapeake Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $97.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $102.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven 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 $108.64.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ CHK traded up $1.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.54. The stock had a trading volume of 425,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,602,422. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $69.68 and a twelve month high of $107.31. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $83.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.88. The firm has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.10. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 49.75%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $917.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th will be given a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is 5.42%.

About Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy Corporation, an independent exploration and production company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of properties to produce 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.