Empowered Funds LLC Purchases Shares of 20,725 Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK – Get Rating) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 20,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,953,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 15.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,196,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $974,127,000 after buying an additional 1,517,281 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 0.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,649,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,465,000 after buying an additional 33,353 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 48.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,077,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,495,000 after buying an additional 680,875 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 4.5% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,962,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,765,000 after buying an additional 83,813 shares during the period. Finally, PointState Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 51.4% in the second quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 1,629,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,178,000 after buying an additional 553,444 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on CHK shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $117.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. Mizuho started coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Monday, January 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.91.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Chesapeake Energy stock opened at $91.84 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.79. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $63.31 and a twelve month high of $107.31.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 1st. The company reported $5.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.48 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 37.97% and a net margin of 26.07%. Equities research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 16.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 15th were given a dividend of $3.16 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Chesapeake Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.32. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 14th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.46%.

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.