Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Buys New Position in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHK. Scout Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter worth $32,079,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,599,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,900,000 after purchasing an additional 307,814 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,958,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,723,000 after purchasing an additional 265,853 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the first quarter valued at about $19,550,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,317,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,221,000 after buying an additional 213,235 shares during the period. 97.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CHK shares. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.62.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CHK opened at $77.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.47. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $72.84 and a 1 year high of $93.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $85.32 and a 200-day moving average of $84.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.08). Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 4.87% and a net margin of 16.42%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $674.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This is a boost from Chesapeake Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.00%.

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.