New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Holdings in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,789 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,892 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.06% of Chesapeake Energy worth $6,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 478.3% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 132.1% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in Chesapeake Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 292.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

Shares of CHK stock opened at $88.59 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.90. The firm has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.52. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $72.84 and a 1-year high of $91.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.89. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.95 million. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 6.74%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CHK. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Chesapeake Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Benchmark dropped their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Chesapeake Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. One research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.58.

About Chesapeake Energy

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.