Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) Short Interest Up 5.2% in September

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,000,000 shares, a growth of 5.2% from the August 31st total of 19,020,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 10.6 days. Currently, 18.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 705.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,402,000 after buying an additional 25,600 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,006,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 66.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 119,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,612,000 after purchasing an additional 47,658 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 284,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,364,000 after purchasing an additional 39,734 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $108.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $93.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.92.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

CHK stock opened at $81.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.59. Chesapeake Energy has a one year low of $69.12 and a one year high of $93.58.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $505.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $822.54 million. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 4.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 73.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is currently 31.00%.

Chesapeake Energy Company Profile

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.